Swear On My Life
by ComplexSimplicitY
Summary: *AU* The Order of the Phoenix-2 witches, 2 wizards, chosen by fate, trained to fight evil. In a life where danger lurks in every corner, how can love exist? This is a story about love-trying 2 avoid it, and realizing that you can't.
1. Chapter 1: Once upon a Time

Swear on My Life

Summary:  2 years after Hogwarts, James is one of the elite 3 that make up the Order of the Phoenix.  When an anonymous person begins taking down Deatheaters, who is he/she and could they be the missing member of the Order? J/L but not tooo fluffy!  MWPP too

A/N: hey everyone, this is my first fan fic…yay me! LoL, well I'm gonna try and update asap, and sorry if the intro is a bit boring, must do some history first, but I'll put up chap. 1 tomorrow ^_^ it's gonna be good trust me, LoL

Chapter 1:  Once upon a time…

Once upon a time, when magic was new and witches and wizards were just starting to discover spells and charms; there was the Order of the Phoenix. Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin, the four most advanced witches and wizards of their time and the protectors of the wizarding world.  

Separately they were great but together, they were invincible.  Hufflepuff's calm patience and undying loyalty to the quartet, Gryffindor's courage and bravery in battle, Ravenclaw's wit and cleverness and Slytherin's ambition made them the most feared against all the dark wizards they ever came up against.  In their lifetimes, the four went on to create the first and best wizarding school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; but in death, they left behind something else, a magical force that could seek out the four most able witches and wizards for every generation and instill in them a power that most wouldn't dare dream of.  

Two men and two women for each generation, born with such advanced powers that only became greater when combined.  The eldest of the four have the ability to freeze objects while the second eldest would be able to deflect spells.  The third eldest would have the power of telekinesis (moving objects with the mind), and the youngest would be the most powerful and have the ability to do wandless magic in times of extreme danger; all of these talents in addition to their extraordinary talents with a wand.  Because no verified evidence of the existence of such a league of wizards and witches ever existed, the legend was never recorded and only survived as an oral tradition.  

Hundreds of years after the deaths of the original four, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin, the wizarding world is again in a time of chaos, destruction and deceit.  Lord Voldemort and his evil supporters, the Deatheaters, are slowly gaining the upper hand in the battle of good versus evil.  In this tragic time the legend of the Order of the Phoenix begins to spread once more, as a beacon of hope that maybe one day their world of magic may be saved.  

Once more the legend is told and luckily a man by the name of Albus Dumbledore has heard of it and begins the search for two witches and two wizards who show those extraordinary powers in order to reunite once more, the legendary Order of the Phoenix.

A/N: Soooo how do you like?? I hope it's a good start ^_^;; I dunno exactly what the Order of the Phoenix is, but this was my first impression, some kind of all star super hero fighting team kinda thing hehe ^_^ REVIEW PLEASE!!!!! I'm gonna keep writing anyways, but I'd like to hear what u guys think so far even though it is just the intro…the first chapter will be out tomorrow at 4 (when I get home from school LoL) hope you'll continue to read!!

NEXT CHAPTER: James and the rest of the Order; battle with Deatheaters; appearance by a hooded someone; identity will be revealed and we'll get a flashback about the last few days of this person's last year at Hogwarts ^_^

~*Priscilla*~


	2. Chapter 2: Into the Moonlight

~*Swear On My Life*~

A/N: THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!! Yes, now I have gone through all my chapters and paragraphed ^_^ less stress for your eyeballs! Thank you for reading my story still and dealing with the headaches…I wub yooh guys so much!!! Anyways, on with the story…

Chapter 2:  In the Moonlight

As the final rays of red, orange and yellow began to fade from the darkening sky and the moon began to show its face to the night, James Potter and Sirius Black finished their dinner and headed to their rooms to get changed.  Tonight would be their first night, after two years of intense training, facing the Deatheaters and Lord Voldemort; Sirius Black, James Potter and their friend Tracy Williams made up the Order of the Phoenix.  James remembered when Dumbledore had first approached them in their seventh year and told them what he knew about the legendary Order and how their special powers were not just unique but a part of history as well.  Ever since then, James, Sirius and Tracy had all been training endlessly, developing and refining their powers.  Sirius, the oldest, could freeze objects in air;  James, two months younger, could deflect oncoming curses and spells;  Tracy, three months younger than James, had the ability to move objects with her mind (telekinesis).  

Though the three were very advanced and excelled as a team, something, well actually, someone, was missing:  the fourth member.  After years and years of searching, Dumbledore still couldn't find the missing link of the Order; he had tested all his top students, but none of them ever showed any special abilities, and despite the fact that they were all strong, none of their talents could be compared to the much fantasized about strength and grace that the fourth, and youngest member was said to possess.  

As James slipped into his long, black, hooded robes, he charmed his silver wire glasses to be black, that way, they couldn't reflect any moonlight and blow his cover, though he couldn't stop his dark blue-black eyes from twinkling with excitement.  He ran the plan over in his head; the three would arrive together, then split up, each of them taking a different point (think triangle).  Then, when the time was right, they would begin the surprise attack.  After one last glance in the mirror, James grabbed his wand, called to Sirius, and prepared to face his nightmare: Voldemort.

As the three started to walk towards the wood and Voldemort, James started to say, 

"Okay you guys, remember the plan okay? We can't blow this, there's too much at stake, just focus and wait until all the Deatheaters are kneeling at Voldemort's feet to start alright?  Good luck, if we do this right, we'll be able to turn in at least a dozen of them tonight."   

"Hey I thought I was the one who got to give the pep talk, I'm the oldest!" Sirius said. 

Tracy just rolled her eyes and muttered, 

"I can't believe I'm the youngest, I'm the only mature one around here."  

Suddenly, other robed figures began popping out of the darkness, all of them gathering around the Dark Lord's robes. all right, this is it…oh my god…oh my god  James thought to himself.  Finally, when all of the Deatheaters were down, James was the first to react. Taking aim at the short, plump, robed figure nearest to Voldemort (::ahem:: short…plump…take a guess at what I'm implying ^_^), he screamed 

"Stupefy!"  

James stood, momentarily stunned, as all the Deatheaters immediately whipped around, without a minute's hesitation, and began shooting spells at him.  Blocking an oncoming jet of gold light with a wave of his hand, James yelled "Stupefy!" again, and again, countless times; the more of them he could catch, the better; at least this way he would be able to bring them back and lock them up in Azkaban for good. 

He heard Sirius screaming "Expelliarmus!" and turned to see dozens of wands frozen in motion while the owners looked on in terror.  At the angle to his right, he could see Tracy's wand emit jets of light also, while her other hand rested on her temple, initiating her powers and he knew that somewhere in the sky, floated at least two Deatheaters.  As the chaos continued, the Deatheaters had started to scatter, and James suddenly found himself facing something else.  In front of him, maybe three feet away was a figure in a black robe, but this one had no hood.  He was staring into the soulless red eyes of Lord Voldemort.  

James started to panic ohhh holy shit! This was not supposed to happen, damn it! Oh crap, what the hell am I going to do…am I going to die?? Oooo shit! God, James, focus!!.  As he stood rooted to the spot, he could only imagine how stupid he must have looked.  Still petrified with terror, he heard a shriek and started to shake, knowing that that was Tracy.  Was she dead? Minutes later, a tortured scream shook the night, as James still frozen, listened to his best friend Sirius screaming for his life (Cruciatus Curse). 

 Finally snapping out of it, James raised his wand and prepared to do the Disarming Spell on Voldemort, when he heard the snake like voice say: 

"So this is Dumbledore's so called Order of the Phoenix? Nothing but three pathetic children that he wanted to be rid of no doubt.  But first, why don't we make you suffer a bit hmm?"

 All of a sudden, a red light was shooting directly at James, and he raised his hand to deflect it.  As the shrill voice began to laugh, James realized that he was already very weak and quickly getting weaker; he had already deflected so many strong spells and curses that his power and energy were draining; he felt like passing out.  If Voldemort decided to hit him again with another curse, he wasn't sure he could block it. 

 Slipping away from reality, James managed to open his eyes once more, he needed to try to do something to defend himself from Voldemort, he needed to stun him, if not to disarm him.  Again the sound of screaming filled his ears and he couldn't think, didn't know what to think.  Suddenly the laughter stopped, and James realized that there were more than two screams now, and that they were for the most part masculine sounding.  Popping noises once again filled the air while a cold voice screamed 

"You cowards! Abandon me and I will see to it that you pay!" 

Fighting for life and attempting to focus his vision on the black figure approaching him, he realized it was Voldemort and heard a faint whisper.  A wand began to move. James let his eyelids drop, he didn't want to see the sickening green light, and he tried to block out the words that so many before him had already heard.  

"Avada Kedavra"

Suddenly, another voice cut through the night.  A female voice was screaming "Nooo!!!"  while a brilliant, shimmering white light enveloped James and another figure on his close right.  

James opened his eyes and realized that the light was forming a shield around the two of them, but he didn't realize how, after all, the figure's wand was pointed at Voldemort, not at James, how could the Shielding Charm (remember who's good at charms??) work if it wasn't pointed directly at him?  Concentrating on the robed figure next to him, he saw that the person's wand was emitting a jet of red light aimed at Voldemort.  He heard Voldemort's evil voice curse in surprise his wand was blasted away, and he was blown off his feet.  

Confused, James looked at the person next to him again, and saw that the white light was coming from her outstretched, flexed hand. As pain took over his mind and body once more, James couldn't fight it any longer and let his head fall to the soft forest ground once more.  

Next Chapter:  

What I have here was supposed to be in this chapter, but cutting it off here sounded much better ^_^

à Identity of the unknown figure, aftermath of the battle, a talk with Dumbledore, a look into the life and memories of the unknown someone (the one I'm giving you the identity, but you probably already know because there's two big hints for ya!), and lots lots more!  

A/N:  AWWW THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS MY 5 FIRST REVIEWERS!!!! I'm happy you all like it ^_^ I try very hard, LoL!  KEEP REVIEWING!!!!!! Ooo and b4 I forget, I know many think that Dumbledore's in the Order, but I'm taking it differently, basically my thoughts are, each Order has an advisor they go to, like how the X-Men have Professor X (if you have no idea what I'm talking about..never mind ^_^)  The first Order had Merlin to go to, and James, Sirius, Tracy and _____ ^_^ have Dumbledore ^_^ REMEMBER TO REVIEW!!!

~*Priscilla*~


	3. Chapter 3: Mysterium

Swear On My Life

*Sorries about that last beginning of a sentence, the "When he awoke," part…was not supposed to go there, LoL! Once again sorries, read on!*

Disclaimer: heh, forgot to do this for the first two chappies…whoops!! Well basically, J.K. Rowling owns everything you recognize…what you don't is my pure and utter genius ^_^_^ j/k LoL ^_^ I'm only doing one of these though, so if yur that interested check back here

Last Chapter:  'As pain took over his mind and body once more, James couldn't fight it any longer and let his head fall to the soft forest ground once more.'

Chapter 3:  Mysterium

When he finally woke up, James groaned, and opened his eyes very slightly.  All of a sudden, noise pounded against his eardrums as a very loud voice screamed, 

"HE'S ALIVE!!! HE'S ALIVE!!!!!"

"Stuff it Sirius…ugh, where am I?" James replied sleepily.  

Sirius pretended to look offended, and retorted with 

"That's the thanks I get for saving your life?!?"  

Immediately following that, James watched bemused as Tracy's hand shot out of nowhere and smacked Sirius' head.  

"You annoying little prat, you couldn't save yourself if you wanted to! I seem to recall last night how you were screaming for dear dear life until that mysterious figure came up and stopped that Cruciatus somehow."  Tracy said as James started laughing at his friend.  

"Hey!  Fighting foul!  Besides, it's not like you were in the best shape ever!  Person saved you too, remember?"  

"Well at least I'll admit it!  Unlike someone I know who is all talk and no action!  If you weren't so freaked out about saving your own fat arse you probably would have been running around like some pathetic damsel-in-distress."  

James laughed even harder and then started thinking over the events of the previous night.  Who was that person?  James stopped laughing as he looked over at his two friends who were deeply involved in a staring contest at the moment, both glaring daggers at the other, though Tracy seemed to be winning; Sirius' right eye had started to twitch. Holding back another burst of laughter, James said,

" So what exactly happened last night? I mean, the last thing I remember is Voldemort about to kill me, then all of a sudden, I heard a woman scream out 'No!' and she must have performed a shielding charm, but somehow at the same time, disarmed Voldemort.  Is that even possible? I thought you had to point your wand at the person you wanted to shield to have it work, but when I looked at her, the light seemed to be coming from her hand and not her wand.  How did you find me anyway?"  

Tracy was slightly frowning and appeared to be in deep thought, while Sirius started to explain to James, " Well, like Tracy said, we were getting our arses kicked because there were so many of them, and we couldn't find you, plus they knew some pretty screwy spells.  We managed to get five to Azkaban though, the Rosiers, Wilkes, Crabbe and Goyle.  Anyways, we were getting the Cruciatus put on the both of us when all of a sudden, this robed person just came from out of no where and started helping us out.  By then, most of the Deatheaters had already apparated away in fear, she was really good.  Then she disappeared again.  After Tracy and I came to, we saw you not too far away, and there was this weird mark next to you in the air, about four feet off the ground.  I thought it was just a random gathering of silver stars, but Tracy here seems to think that they resembled some kind of flower, a lily, actually.  Weird huh? Anyways,"

 "Wait" James interrupted, "a lily?"  Sirius tried to avoid his friend's pressing stare, and replied, 

"Come on James, you don't actually think it was Lily do you?  Prongs, it's been two years, you need to move on!  I know you never lost your feelings for her and had to leave her because Dumbledore said that the training had to be top secret, but you need to move on."  

James looked beaten once more and said, 

"You don't know what it felt like Padfoot.  Everything was so perfect with Lily, she was my best friend after you, and I love her.  I promised that no matter what, I'd always love her, but she didn't believe me when I broke up with her.  God, I can't believe I did it.  Why did it have to be secret anyway? Damn!"  "Because, you know there was a spy at Hogwarts.  If someone had known that you two were going to be in there, they could have found out very easily, and we'd probably be dead right now.  Anyways, it wasn't Lily last night James, it couldn't have been.  Besides, Lily's good, but there's no way that she could do two spells at once, and plus,"  

"Wait," Tracy interrupted, as Sirius started grumbling, 

"Let's just all interrupt Sirius today, now shall we? Sooo rude!!"  Tracy glared at him, then continued,      "what if that person wasn't doing two spells at once?  What if that person could do wandless magic?"  As they all thought about it, Sirius gasped in surprise and whispered, 

"It all fits.  The fourth member can do wandless magic, and has tremendous abilities with spells and charms, curses that sort of thing.  James said that he heard a female voice call out.  The missing member has to be female, there's already me and James.  This is it."   Tracy looked impressed while James quickly stood and said, 

"Guys, we have to talk to Dumbledore about this, he's probably worried sick about us by now, it's almost dawn.  Let's go."

After the three arrived at Hogwarts, two hours later (remember can't apparate on Hogwarts' grounds ^_^), they ran to Dumbledore's office, and quickly gave him a recap of the previous night.  When James finally finished, Dumbledore remarked, 

" Well, it seems the three of you have done a fantastic job.  As for your theory of the missing member, I'm both impressed and convinced.  You are all right; the missing member of the Order was definitely at the scene last night.  I've been reading the Daily Prophet and it seems that this is not the only time this "mysterious figure" has been sighted.  In fact, the newspaper is starting to refer to her as Mysterium; she's been turning in a good number of Deatheaters to the Ministry for about three months now, always breaking up meetings much like the one you three were at last night.  There was never any report about how she broke up the meetings though, but with your information, we can conclude that this Mysterium, is indeed, the missing part of the Order of the Phoenix."  

Tracy, Sirius and James looked pleased, but James was still feeling slightly perturbed.  

"Professor, I was wondering.  Well, when Tracy and Sirius found me, they said that there was a mark floating near me.  Tracy thinks that it was a white lily, made up of silver stars.  What I'm trying to say is…well, er, Professor, is there any chance at all that Lily Evans is the missing member?"  

Dumbledore's eyes had gone dull, no longer twinkling, as his heart filled with sadness.  He knew how much James had loved Lily, and never doubted that he always would love her.  

"James, I'm sorry, but it just can't be possible. Ms. Evans was extraordinarily talented, but when I performed the Soul Charm on her, it was evident that she could not be the our missing person.  You see, the Soul Charm allows the creator of it to view directly, any person's soul.  Had Ms. Evans been the final member, her soul would have had a red phoenix glowing straight above her heart.  Let me demonstrate,"  Dumbledore took out his wand, pointed it at James and muttered, "Almarecium"  As a faint, silvery light surrounded James, sure enough, above his heart was a small, red phoenix.  Dumbledore continued, 

"You see, being a member of the Order of the Phoenix is a great honor.  It is something that is in your destiny, a part of you, a gift to you at birth.  Some things even magic can't change and that is the power of fate and the pull of destiny.  Ms. Evans is a very talented witch, but she is not the missing member of the Order of the Phoenix.  Now if you'll excuse me, I must join the teachers in the Great Hall for lunch.  Will you three be staying? I'm sure we can whip up two more settings at the Gryffindor table, and one more at the Ravenclaw house table."  

Dumbledore finished, blue eyes twinkling once more at his three students.  Tracy beamed, and followed Dumbledore while Sirius screamed "FOOD!!" and ran ahead of his two friends and the Professor.  James, on the other hand, was crushed.  He followed Tracy and Prof. Dumbledore reluctantly, thinking about the days that had gone by.  

Two years ago, he, Remus, Peter and Sirius would be sitting in their Advanced Transfiguration class right now, preparing and running over last minutes details for yet another prank they would be pulling on the Slytherins at lunch today.  

Two years ago, he would be walking through the halls with Lily next to him, her dark red hair flying behind her, as they ran back to Gryffindor tower to get the pack of Filibuster's Fireworks that were needed for the prank.  

When they finally reached the tower, James would fetch the Fireworks while Lily caught her breath.  As he came back down the stairs from the dormitories, Lily would jump on him from behind the statue of Godric Gryffindor, laughing, knocking him to the floor in surprise, and he would straighten his glasses, and look up into her beautiful, sparkling, emerald eyes, while trying to get up with her sitting on his back. He would reach behind him and tickle her sides, and while she shrieked with laughter, he'd pick her up, throw her over his shoulder and begin walking back to the Great Hall.  She would scream, kick and punch him and protest, but all the while laughing, and when he finally put her down, she would throw him a look that could kill, before whipping right back around and kissing him.  

While Sirius wolfed down countless drumsticks and mounds of mashed potatoes, James ignored his meal, and preferred instead, to lose himself in his daydreams.

~*From another P.O.V. starting after James' rescue*~

After Apparating back to her flat near the Leaky Cauldron, she took off her black shoes and tugged off the heavy, long, hooded black robe.  Dark red hair tumbled down past her shoulders, halfway down her back as she removed the hair elastic that was holding it back.  Reaching for her brush, she started to comb out her hair when she caught a reflection of herself in the mirror.  Dark green eyes stared back at her as she threw herself a little smile and walked to her bedroom to collapse on her bed.  

She was so tired after the last night it had been long and tedious work, plus that last charm; she wasn't even sure it would work; she hadn't done a charm that could protect another and never before had she had to save anyone else from the Deatheaters.  For almost three months now, she had been tracking the Deatheaters and Voldemort, showing up at the meetings she knew about and trying her hardest to take them down.  Never before had anyone else been there to try and help her.  

Lily (::gasp!!:: bet you didn't know it was her right? LoL!) put her brush back down and fell backwards onto her bed, still in thought.  Lily closed her eyes as she replayed the night in her head once more, everything had happened so quickly.  

She remembered arriving to a scene of chaos, which was weird because she was positive that she had over heard one of them at the last meeting say that they would be meeting again tonight, not an attack, at midnight.  It wasn't long after when she spotted three other figures, all dressed in Deatheater disguises, trying to knock out and capture the actual Deatheaters.  

One of them had somehow been able to freeze objects coming towards him (not spells though), and he could freeze wands.  Another had a hand up to their head, and Lily was sure that one was telekinetic, her old friend Tracy Williams (AHEM) had shown signs of being able to do that in their first year, but it was only in times of distress, like once when Lucius Malfoy had stolen her quill and she made it fly back to her.  That must also be why Lily could've sworn that there were Deatheaters floating above her.  It was another one though, that Lily was most interested in.  

When she arrived at the scene she had felt some sort of weird pull, guiding her through the chaos to the third person. This one was able to deflect spells with a wave of his hand.  Not only was he skilled magically, she stole glances at him as she continued doing her job, and noticed that he could also throw a very nice punch, and some very well placed kicks.  While stunning another Deatheater, Lily stole another glance at the intriguing mystery man, and she realized that Voldemort was about to kill, him. She finished with the Deatheaters who were doing the Cruciatus on the two figures she had seen before though they didn't look too good now, and started sprinting towards him (sorry if it's confusing, she took out the guys torturing Sirius and Tracy, now rushing towards James) and put up a Shielding Charm just in time, with her hand to protect the both of them, while hitting Voldemort with the Disarming Spell.  

It had definitely drained her though, after all she had only gotten the power about a year ago, after her grandmother and parents had died at the hands of the Dark Lord.  After a month of intense training, and trying to perfect her use of magic without a wand, she only just gotten the hang of it, and the process was very draining.  It was quite simple to initiate though, all she had to do was raise her hand, concentrate on a spell, and it would shoot out of her flexed hand.  It had taken her weeks to do two spells at once, one with her hand, the other with a wand.  

After her two months of training, she had decided that it was time she start tracking the Deatheaters and Voldemort and make them pay for killing her parents and grandmother.  Lily smiled as she remembered the day she first realized she could do wandless magic.  

It was early on a Saturday morning, and Lily Evans was in NO mood to be woken up by a telephone call.  It had been four months after she lost her parents and grandma, and though she missed them terribly, she was at peace.  She yawned widely, and knew that she would have to get up eventually so she stretched slowly, unclenching her fists and flexing her hands while bringing them back down to her sides.  Her left hand lingered though, and she was half way to the phone when she started wishing that she had her wand so that she could Summon it to fly to her, when the cordless phone zoomed into her bedroom right into her hand!  

Ever since then, Lily had trained and tried to research her power as much as she could, and ever since then, she had prepared to do battle with Voldemort and his followers to avenge the deaths of her family members, and the deaths of so many others.  Lily sighed and started to climb under the covers of her bed, happy that the night had been successful; she had turned in five more of Voldemort's supporters.  Five more would pay for all the evils they had done, and she was content.  

Before she fell asleep though, Lily looked up to check the lock on the window next to her bed, and her eyes fell upon something that was on the windowsill.  Confused, she sat up, and reached for it; it looked like a silver chain, and she wondered why she had left her necklace there.  As soon as her fingers brushed the chain, past memories began flooding into her mind, and she couldn't help but cry.  

When the necklace finally reached her lap, Lily ran her fingers over the familiar surface.  She remembered the days when this necklace hung around her neck every second of the day.  She took the star (Lily favored stars over hearts…well I do atleast ^_^) shaped locket in fingers and pressed gently on the diamond that sparkled in the center.  The locket sprang open, and she looked once more at the pictures that were burned into her memory. 

The left side held a picture of her past love, James Potter.  She laughed through her tears at the picture.  There he was, readjusting his silver wire glasses, running a hand through his always messy raven black hair.  He then smiled at her, and started laughing, his dark, blue black eyes, which she loved so much, dancing with joy.  

The picture on the right was of her and James, taken by James' friend Sirius while the two were cuddling on the couch in the Gryffindor common room.  Wrapped in her boyfriend's arms, 17-year old Lily Evans knew nothing about the world around her.  Her world was all that mattered, her parents, her friends, and though Voldemort was taking out so many people, she grieved, yet in those days, she was sure that Lord Voldemort would just go away someday.  

Now 19-years old, Lily Evans was nothing like the girl she used to be.  Though her features were the same, her eyes no longer held the same innocence, love and hope.  Her eyes were bright, but filled with sorrow and pain.  Grieving and defeat haunted her brilliant green eyes.  But, there was something else there also.  Determination.  Pride.  Revenge.  

Lily didn't allow herself to dream or wish anymore.  As her fingers glided over the surface of the star once more, tears came to her eyes, and Lily didn't bother to hold them back.  Lily did wish.  Lily wished that there was still some one left in the world that truly loved her.  As she mulled over these new thoughts, a memory came forward, and she subjected herself to it willingly.

*Flashback: End of Seventh Year*

James and Lily were seated at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.  As students prepared to take the Hogwarts Express home for the last time, the two of them had snuck out early that day to bid Hogsmeade farewell.  As they sipped their Butterbeers, James took a deep breath, and reached for Lily's hand.  

"Lily, I have something to tell you.  I'm sorry, but I can't see you anymore.  I mean, we have to break up.  It's just, I have to go somewhere today, and I wish that I could tell you where, but, Tiger Lily, I just can't.  We just can't be together anymore." 

 Lily stared, open mouthed at him in shock and wrenched her hand back from his grasp.  

"What the hell do you mean James? We can't be together? What the hell are you talking about? I can't believe you! I thought you loved me James, I really did, and I thought I loved you to.  How could you do this to me?" 

Lily, now on the brink of tears, stood, and prepared to run.  She would not cry in front of him, but James was quicker, and in a second, he had her in a tight hug.  

"Tiger Lily, you know I love you.  I can't explain, but you don't know how much this hurts me.  I'm sorry, but I have to end it.  But no matter what Lily, I promise that I'll always love you.  I swear on my life that even if we can't be together, I'll love you 'til the end of time."  

Lily broke away at once, and ran out of the pub, her heart broken.  What was he talking about anyway? I don't care.  I hate him.  Turning back only once, Lily said, 

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

*End Flashback*

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Lily shook herself come on Lil, snap out of it. He's gone, probably has a family somewhere out there.  You're all alone. and forced herself to sleep.  She needed the rest;  she had heard rumors earlier that there would be an attack tonight and she would need to patrol.  Rolling over once more under her sheets, Lily realized she was still clutching the necklace.  

Gently chiding herself for being so childish, she couldn't resist, and slipped the necklace around her neck.  Not long after, as the moon started to set, Lily slipped into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

A/N: Soooo how was it? Good I hope!! THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS EVERYONE!!!! You guys really make my day when you review ^_^ Thanks for all the encouragement everyone, I love you all!!!!!!  KEEP REVIEWING!!!!  Sorry it took so long for me to get this out, stupid computer kept freezing for some stupid reason…grrrrrrrrr…hope it's not confusing and that you like! REVIEW! Sorry but I'm busy this weekend so next chapter won't be up til…eh Saturday night/Sunday morning (as in past midnight ^_^) or Monday ^_^

Next Chapter:  battle number 2!, Lily meets James?, more about the mystery behind Lily and her powers (the how, the why, etc etc…) J/L coming up soon don't worry ;-D  Remus is coming up too!!  

~*Priscilla*~


	4. Chapter 4: When Midnight Falls

Swear On My Life

A/N: Hey everyone thanks for the reviews and suggestions!  Sorry about the whole spacing thing, I finally decided to read the instructions for how to save things like special spacing to the website though, hehe, and have paragraphed everything ^_^ Also, sorries it took so long to get this chapter out…very stressful weekend, and there were so many things that could have happened and it took time to figure out the best scenario…hope you all agree with me!  Happy reading!

Disclaimer: See chapter 3 ^_^

Chapter 4:  When Midnight Falls

            The next night at around eleven p.m., Tracy, Sirius and James sat at a small table in the corner of the Three Broomsticks, waiting for midnight to strike.  Then, they would walk out to the Shrieking Shack, change into their Death Eater disguises and Apparate to the wood last night.  They had assumed that the Death Eaters would be there; it was probably their regular meeting place.  After lunch earlier that day, Dumbledore had put them to training once more.  Though they had advanced very quickly, their powers were no where near mature.  

Legend said that at the height of their powers, the combined powers of the elite four would be powerful enough to bring down any dark wizard.  So far, they were doing pretty well, but Dumbledore was doubtful that their powers were fully matured.  After all, two years isn't too long; in fact, he was hoping that they could continue training, but as the death toll climbed upward, he had no choice; no matter what, saving the lives of innocents was what came first. 

 James took a deep drink of Butterbeer and smiled to himself as Tracy and Sirius started arguing once more.  Something about Sirius calling Tracy fat.  Poor Sirius, he didn't even know what he got himself into as Tracy ranted and raved even more when Sirius said that she could do with losing a few pounds 'I was just joking!! JUST JOKING!! Have mercy!!'  James burst out in laughter, and changed the topic in an attempt to save Sirius from the rage of Tracy Williams.  

"So you guys, what do you think we should do tonight about that woman?  She'll most likely show up, but we'll need to stop her before she leaves and get her to Dumbledore."  

Sirius mouthed a silent thanks to James, as Tracy, her mind on better things now, stopped yelling herself hoarse at Sirius, and wondered aloud, 

"I've got a better question.  How are we gonna find her?  You said she was wearing Death Eater robes right James?  Well if she was, then how will we identify her? We can't exactly go 'Hey you, you think you're a member of the Order of the Phoenix?'"  Sirius replied, 

"Good point…oh well!! Anywho, I don't really care, I'm just gonna go out there and kick me some Death Eater arse."  

James laughed again, and shook his head as Tracy started lecturing Sirius about their duty and how important it would be if they could find the fourth member.  Finally, not a second too late, the grandfather clock in the corner of the pub started to chime.  Midnight.  Tracy snapped her mouth shut and the three rose in unison and started to walk, then jog as the beat up Shack came into view.  Changing into their disguises, they prepared to Apparate, but stopped short, frozen, as a scream pierced the still night air.  

            Lily yawned, bored out of her mind.  This was the fifth time she had Apparated to this particular forest and she was getting sick of it.  In the midst of the mayhem at the last meeting, she was only able to catch word of an attack, but no mention of the location, and therefore; was forced to do some random Apparting to possible sites in hopes that she would be there in time.  She had already been to Hogsmeade twice, various magical communities countless times, Knockturn Alley, Diagon Alley, and was starting the cycle over again.  

Sighing, she gave up, thinking maybe she had heard wrong and decided to just go to the Three Broomsticks for a late Butterbeer before retiring back to her flat.  When she arrived, outside the door of the pub, she froze, remembering the last time she had been by.  Amazingly enough, it had been the day that she and James had broken up; in her exhaustion, she didn't realize where she was going, ever since James had left her, Lily had vowed she would never go back to the Three Broomsticks ever again, opting instead to go to the Leaky Cauldron.  

Yawning once more, she thought 'might as well' and prepared to yank open the heavy, antique door when a shrill scream rang through the sky.  'Oh shit!! The attack! Damn it, where are they? Those bastards!' Without another thought, Lily pulled up her hood and started to jog towards the voice as the scream sounded once more.  

            James was running so fast, he thought he would pass out from lack of oxygen.  Not too far behind him was Sirius, and Tracy was leading, a few feet in front of him.  Tracy worked out often, and ran two miles every morning for fun, and to clear her mind so she was used to long distance running.  They arrived at the housing complex to see a gathering of about 2 dozen Death Eaters try to force entry into one of the homes located in Hogsmeade.  

There was a woman behind the door, obviously frightened, and as they got closer to the Death Eaters, James drew his wand and stopped running.  

Tracy had already stopped and was crouching behind a tree.  One of her gloved hands was up to her temple, and James figured that she must be trying to move something to reinforce the door from the inside.  

Sirius was behind him, trying to sneak close enough to the group and then blend with them.  Hopefully, he knew what he was doing.  James creeped towards the house, and held his breath when he finally reached the group.  As he prepared to attack the Death Eater at the head of the group, his breath was caught in throat as a curse hit him full on.

            As Lily pushed herself even faster, hoping that she would get there in time, she realized that the Death Eaters would be quicker than she, so without a minutes' hesitation, she pulled out her wand and screamed, "Electrio!"

            James' mind screamed with pain as an electric shock jolted through his body, causing other Death Eaters to panic and stare at his glowing, jerking body.  He was confused now, Do these guys just attack each other normally?? Figures, they all were traitors and bastards to begin with…oh wait.  Shit, someone must know! Someone must have seen the three of us run here and prepare to attack.  Great, now Voldie will probably start to be suspicious and stop announcing planned attacks and meetings, he'll probably just summon them with that damn Dark Mark.  Nice work James, you've blown it now…damn this hurts! 

As chaos broke out once more, James finally was able to yell out "Finite Incantatem!" Now, James was really aggravated, and as he turned around, he spotted Sirius and Tracy also trying to hold off Death Eaters.  Scanning the area again, James saw a dark figure sprinting towards him, wand outstretched, and James willing raised his wand, and yelled "Impedimenta!"

            Lily continued to run, wand hand outstretched, towards the Death Eater she had attacked.  How did he do that? Most people hit with the Electrius Curse were inflicted with mind numbing jolts for a good ten minutes.  Her curse had barely lasted five minutes, probably only about two or three.  Even more determined now, she prepared herself for a deadly duel.  

As Lily started to yell out another curse, she was taken by surprise when the same figure was able to try and fire a curse at her.  Now her brain was filled with questions, How did he do that? Okay, this is creepy, this guy can remove my curse, and still have enough power to try and take me down? What am I dealing with Voldemort here? No, he would be wearing that other robe…oh crap, Lily, hello…dodge it!!! Ignoring her thoughts, Lily immediately dropped to the ground and then flipped herself up using her hands, took careful aim with her wand, and yelled, "Contortio!"

            James was taken by the ability of the Death Eater, not only did he know good curses, he also was skilled in martial arts it seemed.  Bracing himself, James deflected the oncoming curse, and was surprised when he felt a great amount of magic drain out of him. Whoa…okay so that definitely couldn't have been a baby curse…gotta try and dodge 'em instead of blocking 'em now for a while…can not fall down to one of Voldie's lowly scum 

As the two became engaged in a major duel, charms, spells, curses inflicting them both, the circumstances caused the both of them to try their hardest, especially since many of the other Death Eaters were also engaged in battle, some with each other in the confusion, others with Tracy and Sirius.  Stray curses were everywhere, some hitting others, some shooting off and dissipating in the distance.  James and Lily were unknowingly still battling each other, both of them determined to win, both with a streak of ignorance and both so stubborn, that even as others started to Disapparate, the two continued to battle on. 

Advanced curses were now being thrown about, and both of them couldn't even be seen, the constant emission of spells and curses blinded everyone except for themselves.  After what seemed like forever, the two both yelled "Expelliarmus!" at the same time, and as their wands flew off into the distance; Lily, filled with rage, launched herself at James, and they started an all out fist fight.  

            After losing his wand, James braced himself as he saw the woman in the robes now approach him (since they were screaming spells, James knows the other is a woman, and Lily knows the other is a guy) and was a little doubtful.  James Potter was no small guy, he wasn't fat, but years of Quidditch at Hogwarts and after had tightened his muscles, and he didn't look as scrawny as he did before, but still didn't pass for muscular.  James, at 5'9 was somewhere in between the two extremes, and could still be considered a hottie by most ^_^.  

Still, James had learned not to take things for granted, and pulled himself into a defense position.  Dumbledore had insisted that the three of them take up some form of martial arts, just incase they didn't have their wands with them and were forced to engage in contact battle.  Adjusting his glasses and praying they wouldn't be broken, James sighed and waited for the hit to come.

             As Lily ran, she stopped fuming long enough to re-analyze the situation.  Here she was, 5'3, average weight, and she was going to attempt to engage in hand to hand combat with a guy who was 6" taller than her and probably not too weak.  

Pushing the fear from her mind, Lily figured she did have the upper hand though, starting in summer of her sixth year, Lily's parents had enrolled her in a martial arts class, just incase she ever lost her wand, or needed to defend herself in the muggle world.  Her flexibility really helped her out, and Lily excelled at Tae Kwon Do, now a first degree black belt.  

Focusing on the enemy, she launched into a series of flips just to scare him, and did a round house kick with her right foot, aiming for the guy's head.

            James was stunned as the woman performed four flips gracefully towards him, amazed at her flexibility.  The amazement turned to anger though, as the figure reached him and kicked out at his head.  James grabbed the foot and twisted it, hoping to flip his attacker to the floor, but she was very skilled, and as she was spinning, managed to kick him in the chest.  

Breath gone, James managed to shrug it off, and started to throw punches and kicks on the other.  She dodged them all though, getting in a few herself, until he grabbed her and flipped her to the floor.  As the two started to grapple (basically wrestling, trying to force the other down and at the same time get up) James was amazed by her strength and anger.  Lily was fully concentrated on the battle though, but her endurance was wearing out, the wand work had been stressful and draining, and now, she, the weaker one physically, was attempting to pin the other.  

With a quick sweep of his leg, James managed to get on top of Lily and sat on her chest, preparing to take her hood off, when a pair of legs hit his back, and his head was held in a death hold by a pair of feet (this is like the scene in Miss Congeniality with Sandra Bullock (Gracie Hart) where she and Benjamin Bratt (Eric Mathews) are beating each other up on the mat after he asks her to go undercover at a beauty pageant).  

As James tried to pull her legs off, she rolled him onto his back, flipped him over, and sat on his upper chest so that he wouldn't be able to pull the same move on her.  Pinning his arms to the ground with all her strength, she whispered to him, "One more for Azkaban today." And as she leaned over him, her locket dangled from Lily's neck, directly in front of James' face.

            Defeated, James glared at the figure on top of him, and tried to push her off.  She managed to hold him down but it was obvious she was getting weaker, every time he tried to lash out, he got closer, and James refused to give up now.  James continued to fight, but turned his attention away from the hooded face to the necklace, shimmering in the moonlight, that had just fallen out of the woman's robes as she leaned over to whisper something to him.  

The pendant was silver, in the shape of a star, enchanted to glitter even in the partial darkness. The diamonds in the center sparkled even more than muggle diamonds did, and looked as if they could be pressed; so it was definitely a locket.  As the voice washed over him, James froze.  

His mind was overcome with a cold numbing sensation, and he started to lose feeling in his hand and felt dizzy as the blood rushed to his brain.  Unable even to breathe for a few moments, James lay stunned in the silence, unable to tear his gaze away from the locket and attempt to see the face that was hidden in the large hood.  

His mouth was dry and a cold sweat had broken out on his face also until he took a shaky breath and warmth rushed through him.  The thoughts rushed through his mind as he continued to stare with glazed over eyes at the beautiful locket.  

Her locket. 

The one he had bought with all the money his dad had let him take with him to Hogwarts.  It was Christmas of their sixth year, and James was looking for the perfect present to give her for their first Christmas as boyfriend girlfriend.  She was also one of his best friends, and Tracy had told him that she had gotten him something he would LOVE for Christmas.  

After many shops, Remus had suggested he get her jewelry, and the Marauders stopped by the jewelers on their way back from Zonko's. James almost left the shop, but the jeweler had pointed out that he could design his own necklace if he wanted, and it took the remainder of the trip before James thought up the perfect design.   

A locket in the shape of a star instead of the usual heart because she loved stars, made out of silver and enchanted to sparkle even in the dark.  The center would be several small, tiny diamonds that formed a smaller star, that when pressed, would allow the locket to open.  It had cost James a good 80 Galleons, and 10 Sickles, plus he had to sneak out and lie to her just to get the locket the next day.  

James stopped struggling, letting his head and hands fall to the floor as he continued to stare at the locket, remembering the priceless look on Lily's face, and hearing her laughter mixing with his as she attempted to stammer out a thank you.  James didn't care though, the look on her face and the fact that he could make her happy was enough for him and worth all his inheritance and money in the world.  

Still in his dazed state, James attempted to try and speak, knowing that if he didn't say or do something, she would knock him out in about a second.  Before he was able to say her name though, two, bright flashes of light streaked through the night and in an instant, Lily was crumpled on top of him.  

James immediately shot up, holding Lily in his arms, and pulling back her hood.  Dark red hair tumbled out and loose strands fell on his robes contrasting with the deep black; it was definitely Lily.  

James buried his face in her hair and breathed in her soft and sweet floral scent as his heart was torn between emotions, his feelings of pure ecstasy for finally finding Lily and seeing the locket around her neck once more, anger at whoever had tried to attack her, and a realization and spreading dread that she was definitely injured, and very badly so also.  

James checked for her pulse, and panicked when he couldn't feel it.  He yanked his hood off and hurriedly pressed his ear to her chest struggling to hear through the thick robes, his heart pounding painfully, faster and harder than before, when he detected no sound.  

Shifting Lily gently and quickly to his other arm, his left hand reached for her neck and he prayed silently, hoping that he would feel a pulse here (it's easier than trying to find it on the palm).  Seconds ticked by and James almost screamed out in agony when he finally felt the presence of a very weak, but present pulse.  

Feeling as if the weight of the world was now gone, James let out his breath, and kissed her gently.  He had almost lost her again.  James turned his head as Sirius and Tracy both rushed towards him, both shouting 

"OH my god James are you alright?"

"Did we get them?? We could barely see you two fighting down there, but I saw your something glint in the light and figured it was your glasses and that you were on the bottom."

"Thank god you're alive!! I saw what was happening and fired the first curse that came to my mind.  Who is it? Did you take off the hood yet?"

"Yea was it Malfoy? Crummy bastard…are you really okay though? Did the person get you too bad?  We got another five tonight, they're being taken to Azkaban right now by Aurors, residents finally came to their senses and called for help."

Tracy and Sirius were about to reach him, when James turned around, all the way this time.  Sirius' jaw dropped in surprise, and he stopped talking mid-sentence.  

His face paled in an instant and he started to shake visibly.  Tracy was also trembling like mad, her face was pale, her eyes glimmering with tears.  She passed out a minute after and Sirius, luckily, had enough sense still to catch her.  

Half-dragging, half-carrying Tracy with him, he made his way over to James, and without a word, the two of them Apparated back to the Three Broomsticks, the two girls in their arms.  

After Floo-ing from the fireplace of the Three Broomsticks to Hogwarts, Dumbledore took one look at the quartet and immediately directed them to the Hospital Wing.  After laying the Tracy and Lily down on separate beds, Madam Pomfrey gave both Sirius and James some Calming Potion to ease their minds.  Sirius was still pale and hadn't said a word since the incident, which was a miracle since he usually had the most to say.  James had a deadened look in his eyes and was trembling slightly.  As the two waited, Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey were able to wake Tracy with out much trouble, she had just passed out from shock.  

After questioning, it appeared that Lily was hit with Stunning Spells from Sirius and Tracy and the Revival Spell (not sure it's called that but it's "Ennervate") wouldn't wake her.  The power just one of those spells coming from either of them would have been enough to knock her unconscious for at least a day, but with two of them coming at her, and Lily already in her weakened state, she was now in a coma. 

Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore both took a look at Lily, and they even called in highly trained MediWizards from St. Mungo's to check Lily out, but nothing could be done.  No one knew when Lily would wake up…if she could wake up.  

As the first day passed, Tracy and Sirius were both sent home with Sleeping Potions, but James refused to leave Lily's side.  After kissing her on the cheek and making sure all the monitors were still hooked up alright, he took her hand in his, and slept uneasily, waking up every hour to check on her.  The night passed slowly, and when dawn finally came, James was curled up in a ball next to Lily, who was stiff as a board, still holding on to her hand.

A/N: Soooo what do you guys think? Good? Bad? REVIEW!!!! PLLLEAASE REVIEW!!!! THANK YOU!!!

~*Priscilla*~


	5. Chapter 5: Ties That Bind

~*Swear On My Life*~

 By:  silver_star  ^_^

Disclaimer:  If you care, see chap. 3  ^_^

A/N: SORRY!!!! I knoe, it's been forever since I updated…well a week, which to me is like forever…but we're all busy…yah pathetic excuse, I'll go back to begging for mercy ^_^_^_^_^ I hope you like this chapter lots, and THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!!!!! THANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!!! I love you guys!!

Chapter 5:  Ties that Bind

Sirius waited impatiently as Tracy yelled, "10 more minutes!!!" to him.  Sirius rolled his eyes and said, "Tracy, that's the second time!!! You shoulda said 20 minutes the first time if you were gonna take THIS long!!!"

"Sod off Sirius, unlike you, I like looking decent."

"Well, I guess my ravishing looks come naturally then cause we all know I'm drop dead sexy and we also all know that I half the time you take in the morning!"

"Oh just shut up, I'm done now anyway."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at Tracy who finally emerged at the top of the staircase, trying to get her necklace on once more. Tracy rolled his eyes, and let out a frustrated sigh,

"Siri, help!! I can't get this stupid clasp on!!! You BETTER be careful!!! Break it and I'll break you!"

Sirius rolled his eyes, and walked over to Tracy as she handed him the necklace, and lifted her long dark brown curls up and over to the side.  Sirius fumbled with the clasp awhile, obviously confused and very much lost, when his brown eyes lit up, and he grabbed his wand.  Muttering a charm, the two necklace ends joined, and he said,

"Thanks for all your faith in me, but I know perfectly well how to put on a necklace, all done!"

Tracy let her hair down again while saying,

"You just lucked out with that charm, don't think I didn't hear you…"

And the two continued bickering through the hall, kitchen and living room to the fireplace. ^_^ 

Tracy proceeded to grab some Floo powder, but Sirius was quicker and jumped into the flames, and shouted, "Hogwarts!" while making a face at Tracy.  Worn out from their previous argument, and very much pissed off with Sirius, she waited until the flames changed back to red to step into the fire.

When the two arrived in Hogwarts once more, Tracy screamed at Sirius (he was hiding behind a suit of armor, and jumped out at her and tugged at one of her curls while yelling 'BOO!' in her ear) and tore off after him, one laughing maniacally, the other red with fury and shouting at the top of her lungs.  

Sirius finally came to a halt outside the entrance to the Hospital Wing, about to open the door, when Tracy took a flying leap and tackled him from his right.  

As they both lay on the cold floor, in a very awkward position, their eyes locked for a moment.  Tracy felt a little dazed as she stared into Sirius' deep brown eyes.  Oh Merlin, not now…why is it I pick the most comfortable moments to have all these feelings rushing back to me? Not when we're laughing and having fun, or even when we're alone, it's gotta be when I'm on top of him…oi, he probably thinks I'm the world's biggest klutz… 

As her hair fell down around them, Sirius couldn't tear his gaze away from Tracy's blue eyes.  Her light, baby blue eyes were always twinkling, and were the perfect color, not too light so that they looked silver, but a beautiful pristine blue.  Wonderful, just let her lie here on top of her, don't try to get up/help her up, just stare…okay that means stop staring…oi, I'm such a klutz…say something…anything!…one word…Sirius you are such a dork…and such an ass! 

Finally, Tracy cleared her throat, and looked away uncomfortably.  Sirius followed suit, and gently rolled her off of him, got up, and then offered her a hand. Lucky save…you almost made a complete fool of yourself! Sirius then opened the door to the Hospital Wing and let Tracy through first, then walked through himself, and approached the curtained off area where Lily lay.

James stirred in his sleep, snuggling closer to his pillow, wrapping his arms around it.  As the sun's rays continued to shine through his eye lids, he buried his head more into…hair?  Since when do pillows have hair…am I holding a hand?? Pillows don't have hands…ohhh wait Lily…that's right, you're in the Hospital Wing, and you were holding Lily's hand…and you got up into her bed…wait a minute…this is no pillow! James quickly snapped up, as Sirius and Tracy continued to laugh, only now they did so openly, before they were at least attempting to hold it in ^_^ 

"Morning James!" Sirius chirped, "Have a nice sleep?"

James glared at his two friends while they laughed hysterically once more.

"Yah I did actually…you guys can shut up now!!" 

As the laughter died down, James re-adjusted his glasses and got off the bed, stretching and yawning.  The three of them looked at Lily once more, still pale, and unmoving.  

"Seriously though James, how did the night go?" Tracy asked.

"She didn't move at all…I don't think that's a good thing, so not good. I can't believe she's still out though, she never stayed stick for very long, not even that one time she got pneumonia." James replied.

"Well, James, we've gotta leave for a sec, Dumbledore owled us this morning, he wants to see the three of us, that's why we're here so early." Sirius said.

Sirius and Tracy both squeezed Lily's still, cold hand, and James did the same, but kissed it also.

The trio arrived at Dumbledore's office and gave the password, "Toffee Nut Latte!" (Starbucks' newest drink…VERY yummy ^_^_^_^_^_^) and stood on the steps behind the statue of a griffin.  

"Good morning Professor Dumbledore." The three said in unison.

"Good morning James, Sirius and Tracy.  I hope it's not too early to call a meeting. You all slept well I hope?"

They all nodded yes, and Dumbledore continued.

"Well, it's time we discussed exactly what happened last night and the situation that is now at hand.  Last night, I managed to do some more tests of my on Ms. Evans when you first brought her in, and I recently got the results.  It seems that Lily is doing fine physically, Madam Pomfrey has checked all her organs, and they are all fine, but, her magic level, is a different issue."  Dumbledore pulled out some sheets of parchment and handed them to Tracy, James and Sirius.  

"Now, do you see anything interesting about that?"

Tracy, who had always been good at Medical Magic, was the first to respond,

"Her magic level…it's not low at all, it's actually…quite high and definitely normal.  But Professor, it doesn't make sense, how can she be in perfect condition, with her magic levels high, she should be perfectly fine, she shouldn't be comatose if her magic level was okay." 

"You're right Tracy.  Very curious that she'd be unconscious, free of curses, in perfect magical and physical health, and still be out like a light bulb.  After I came to your resolution, I realized some thing was not quite right, and proceeded to re do the tests, but nothing came up yet again.  Then, I tried something else.  Next page please."

Tracy shifted the parchments, and placed the first one on the desk.  The second parchment had another chart on it, but this one was slightly modified.  James recognized it as the chart that was used whenever he, Sirius or Tracy went to get their check ups done with Mad-Eye Moody, a close friend of Dumbledore's who happened to know many magical remedies and procedures (he insisted on learning them so that he would be prepared for anything) and who could be trusted to keep their information secret.  This time, Sirius spoke up,

"Professor, isn't that the chart that's used on the three of us? Wait a minute…that's why Lily's passed out! Look Trace, her magic level.  It's normal, even above normal on a regular chart, but when compared to our levels, it's really low! That's it then isn't it Professor? Lily's one of us!"

Dumbledore smiled, but his eyes still held concern.  James' heart was racing…this is it…no more secrets! Lily's a part of the Order, I knew it!!

"Sirius you are both right and wrong. Yes, when Lily's magic is charted on this scale, her condition agrees with the data, naturally with her magic level so low, she would be knocked out for quite a while as her body tries to heal itself and restore the magic that is gone.  But, what we don't know is if Lily is a member or not.  If you recall, I told you about the Soul Charm; nothing appeared on her when it was performed.  At this point, it is possible that perhaps Lily truly is a Death eater.  We don't know for sure, the Dark Mark will only appear when the Dark Lord wants it to.  It's logical to assume though, what else was Lily doing there that night, fighting with you James, how would she know where to go?" Dumbledore concluded.  

James could only stare at the old man in shock.  Sirius and Tracy both had the same look on their faces, and all three of their jaws were dropped.  Lily Evans? A Death Eater? Lily who was so full of life? Lily, former Prefect and Head Girl? Lily who was Muggle-born and who had so much compassion for those who had lost family in Voldemort's attacks? It couldn't be.

"Professor, you can't believe that! Lily? LILY? It's impossible! There's got to be another answer!" James protested.

"James, please calm down. I don't know for sure, I'm merely assuming.  The only thing we can do now for sure though, is wake Ms. Evans.  Now that we know what is wrong with her, we know what to do.  This is the reason why I called the three of you here.  Lily is very weak right now, and will eventually regain consciousness again, but it could take a very long time.  What I need the three of you to do is donate some of your magic for her.  I'm asking you because you were all Lily's closest friends and because your magic level is high, and you are all very strong. Will you do it?"

Sirius, James and Tracy all answered with, "Yes!" "Of course!" and "Anything for Lily!" 

Dumbledore smiled and followed the three friends as they sprinted out of his office and to the Hospital Wing.

"Okay, it's a very simple procedure.  Firstly, the three of you will need to take these potions.  They will allow the magic to pass from you, through your wand and into Lily.  Lily will be given the potion that allows her body to accept the magic given to her, so there should be no complications.  Second, one by one, you will each place the tip of your wands to Lily's right temple, and after a few seconds, your magic will pass into Lily. Everyone okay with that?"

They nodded, and Tracy stepped up first.  She winced, looking at the fluorescent blue potion, Tracy had never enjoyed drinking potions, but it was, after all, for Lily.  Madam Pomfrey finished pouring the fluorescent red potion down Lily's throat, and Lily started to glow a dull red.  

Tracy drained the potion in a few seconds, took a deep breath and reached for her wand.  She was glowing a faint blue and as she touched her wand to Lily's temple, both their bodies instantly glowed brighter. After a few moments of silence, the blue from Tracy, spread down her wand, and into Lily.  Lily's body started to take on a purplish tint now.  After about five minutes, Dumbledore stopped her, and Sirius stepped up next.  

He chugged the potion, and did the same as Tracy, all the while, Lily was turning a deeper, brighter, glowing purple.  Finally James stepped up, drank the potion immediately, and gently touched his wand to Liliy's temple.  Lily glowed even more, and when James was finished, as he removed his wand, Lily's purple glow intensified and fiilled the room for a second.  

When the purple vanished, Lily was back to normal, her body no longer emitting a purple glow, and her cheeks rosy once more.  The color had come back into her skin, and looking around, James noticed that he, Sirius and Tracy, were no longer blue.  Madam Pomfrey was just about to rush the four of them out the door when a low groan sounded from the bed.  

Tracy, Sirius and James all dashed back to the bed, and Dumbledore smiled an all knowing smile as he walked calmly back to the bed.  Lily groaned once more, and started to stir, eyelids squeezing together and relaxing again, her body shifting, and her shoulders shrugging.  After what seemed like an eternity, she opened her eyes.  

"Where…where am I?"

"LILY!!!!!!!LILY!!!!"

As Lily Evans opened her eyes, she felt as if she had just woken up from an extremely comfortable sleep.  She was definitely not home though, this was not her bed, and she had no idea where she was.  Focusing her eyes some more, she wondered aloud "Where am I?" and was immediately met with what sounded like three voices, screaming her name.  

Closing her eyes once more and reaching to pull the covers over her head, she realized that she couldn't move her hand, it was connected to something…a wire? A tube?? Opening her eyes once more, she gasped at what she saw.  

"OH MY GOD!!! TRACY!!!!!"

"LILY!!!! AHHH!!!! You remember me!!!"

"Of course I do, what are you doing here?!?! Where am I?"

Tracy immediately grabbed Lily and gave her a huge hug, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You're awake!!! You're awake!!! You're okay! Ohhhh I'm soooo sorry for hitting you with that stupid curse!!!"

"CURSE?!?!?! Am I dreaming or something?" Lily was just about to ponder her sanity once more when Tracy shifted, and Lily was able to see the rest of the room. I'm in Hogwarts?? WHAT?? No, no, I graduated…yea I graduated like two years ago, HELLO! What happened to me…wait…the duel last night. But I had that guy! I was on top! Someone else must have knocked me out then…TRACY!?!?!?!

"I'm sooo sorry I thought you were gonna kill the stupid prick, and I panicked…well it's not all my fault…" Tracy was interrupted when Sirius came up and rudely shoved her aside and wrapped Lily in his arms,

"Lils!!! YOU'RE ALIVE!!! I'm sorry I cursed you too, see we thought you were gonna hurt the sissy boy over there, and we both hit you with a curse, but then we found out what was wrong, and donated some of our magic to you, and OH MY GOSH YOU'RE ALIVE!!!"  Sirius kept rambling incessantly, as Lily laughed and hugged back,

"How'd you guys find me?? I haven't heard from any of you in two years since graduation!! What have you been up to? WAIT YOU CURSED ME!?!??!!? WHAT!!!??"

Sirius then let go of her and moved out of the way.

Lily's mouth dropped open as she saw who it was that was standing behind Sirius.  He looked older, well they all looked older, but no matter how many years passed, Lily would always remember and recognize him.  Something about him just let her know and reassured her that it was definitely him.  

James Potter.

James was anxious to see Lily.  Still, he waited patiently though, watching her every move.  Two years.  It had been to long.  When she first opened her eyes, he had been mesmerized, as always.  The deep, dark, sparkling green eyes renewed themselves in his memory, and now that Sirius was finally out of the way, James couldn't keep his ecstasy hidden any longer.  With a big grin on his face, he proceeded to wrap her in the biggest hug that he had ever given any one in his life, when…

"JAMES POTTER GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!!" Lily screamed. (Remember, last time they saw each other, 2 years ago, he had broken up with her? Yup, she's not insane ^_^)  

Next moment, James had shot up into the air and was hovering far above the ground, right next to the ceiling fan that hung from the high castle ceiling.  

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!?!?!? Lily, put me down!!! What is your problem!?!! I haven't seen you for two years, and this is how you greet me?!?" James screamed as he was suspended dangerously in the air. Sirius and Tracy were both laughing like crazy, they both knew why Lily was so ticked at seeing James again, and couldn't help but laugh at poor love sick James who was probably extremely confused and very ticked off.  Even though James' hair was as far from red as possible, his temper could rival Lily's.  

Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey, on the other hand, had something else on their minds. How could Lily manage to do the Levitation Spell without her wand? Just to be sure, Dumbledore's eyes flickered onto the table which was at Lily's side.  

Her wand was still there, as it was moments ago, before she had suspended James in mid air.  Dumbledore glanced at Lily, and noticed that her hand was trembling.  Wait, not trembling…flicking.  Swish and flick…Wingardium Leviosa, Levitation Spell! Dumbledore let out a deep breath of relief and frustration. Well, Lily wasn't a Death Eater, that's for sure, if she was, Voldemort would have known of her powers and would have taken them from her by now.  Still, how was Lily capable of this? Unless…

Meanwhile…

"James, what are you doing here?? My problem?? I thought that you had to leave, could never see me again, and now here you are? What do you expect James?? It's not like you've even tried to keep in touch with me, actually," Lily's temper now spreading to include the others, " NONE of you have kept in touch with me!! What are you all doing here??" 

"Lily, once again I'M SORRY!!! It wasn't my fault, what more do you want!!??? Damn!!! You could be a little nicer, I did save your god damn life just now, Tracy and Sirius too! You're such a fricken spaz!!!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME POTTER!??!?!?!!"

"YOU HEARD ME EVANS!!!!"

As the two continued to yell at each other, Lily periodically dropping James a few feet then catching him again, just to freak him out and get him more pissed, Tracy and Sirius smiled recalling old memories.  They remembered the years before James and Lily had started going out.  Though they hung out with the same people, James and Lily we almost always fighting about something, they both had very short tempers.  It's not that they hated each other, they just had many disagreements, and very strong opinions (Like Ron and Hermione…disagreements, but still friends, get it?).  

After being forced into becoming Potions partners though, the two eventually found out they had a lot in common, and then, after a long, slow, process, fell in love (Not cuz they had to get over the disagreements, cuz I like really slow, fluffy, cutesy, lovey dovey stories…like when they love each other but don't realize it, that kinda thing ^_^).  Anyways, back in the present time, Lily and James were still shouting at each other, James even more pissed now because his glasses had fallen off, and Lily was taunting him, telling him that they were to his left/right, when in reality, they were floating beneath him.  James couldn't see a thing though, and continued yelling at Lily…well actually he was yelling at a wall, but didn't know it.  Finally, Dumbledore yelled,

"ENOUGH!"

James and Lily both stopped screaming, and the laughter from Sirius and Tracy stopped immediately.

"Ms. Evans, kindly place Mr. Potter on the ground please, on be careful of his glasses.  Meanwhile, I would like it if you could all leave please, and give me a moment with Ms. Evans." 

Lily let James drift back down to the ground and let his glasses hover in front of his face. Angrily, James snatched his glasses, and shoved them back on his face.  Lily glared at him, and stuck her tongue out at his retreating figure. Professor Dumbledore chuckled lightly before beginning to speak,

"Ms. Evans, you haven't changed one bit since you left these halls, do you know that? You're still as smart, witty, clever and pretty as ever."

Lily blushed a bit, and replied "Thank You Professor."

"Well, now my dear, I'm sure you must be very confused, so let me explain what I know to be true and what I've heard.  According to Tracy, Sirius and James, you were found yesterday at a Death Eater attack, where you attacked James."

Lily's eyes opened in surprise, and her jaw dropped a little.  

"James? James was the Death Eater? But…then…"

"Relax dear girl, you misunderstand.  Let me explain.  You see, in every generation, there are two wizards and two witches who are blessed with extremely advanced powers, and also one special talent each.  It is their destiny to protect the world of good from evil and to maintain balance in the world. They are called the Order of the Phoenix."

"Order of the Phoenix? The Order is real??" Lily interrupted,

"Yes, how do you know about the Order Lily?" Dumbledore asked.

"My grandmother used to tell me about it.  When I was younger, she would tell me all these stories about a group of friends who fought evil, she told me they were called the Order of the Phoenix.  I always thought it was just a fairy tale. What does that have to do with anything Professor?" Lily replied.

"Well, as you know, each member of the Order has a different magical power; I noticed when you were busy keeping Mr. Potter afloat that you did it without your wand.  Lily, wandless magic is the power that belongs to the youngest member of the Order.  Now I'm not saying that you're in the group Lily because when I did the Soul Charm on you, a phoenix was not above your heart, and without that mark on your soul, you can not be a member of the Order.  I'm not sure what or how that happened, but I do want you to know that if you are willing, I would like you to move in to a flat near Hogwarts, perhaps with Tracy so that you can come here every day to train with us.  Training is hard, and very draining, but if you want to, I don't mind at all having you here.  Then after you've had time to exercise your powers, and when you feel comfortable, I will perform the Soul Charm on you once more.  What do you say?"

Lily was in shock.  Never had she expected anything like this in her life! As the shock started to fade, happiness started to fill her soul, as she realized what Dumbledore was asking of her.  Without any more hesitation, Lily replied,

"Yes, I'd love to Professor."

"Wonderful.  I'll go let your friends back in now, you all have a lot to catch up on." Dumbledore said as he left the room.  In the moments that followed, Lily was starting to relax again when she heard what sounded like yelling and pushing from outside her door.  Frowning, she wondered what it was when all of a sudden the door burst open and James was shoved inside.  

In less than a second, before James could get his balance again, Sirius slammed the door shut, and Tracy locked it with her wand. Running his hand through his ever messy hair, and re adjusting his glasses, James slowly walked towards Lily.  After an awkward silence, they both whispered at the same time,

"I'm sorry."  They both burst out laughing, and Lily took James hand while James pulled her closer and gave her a huge hug. James started first and said,

"Tiger Lily, I'm so sorry.  These past two years, I've thought about you so much, and I still love you.  I know I shouldn't have lied to you, and I should have told you because I trust you with my life, but I couldn't.  Lily, I'm so sorry for everything you had to go through, your parents and grandma, being alone and having to face everything solo.  I wish I could have been there by you Lil."  They broke apart and Lily, who now had streams of tears running down her cheeks, asked 

"Why couldn't you be?"  James wiped away her tears, and told her about being a part of the Order, about Sirius and Tracy too.  He told her about how he thought it might be you, and how he knew that it was her that night.  He explained how they revived her too, and about where they lived.  When he finished, Lily's tears had stopped, and her hand was still in his.  

She smiled at him, and James' heart flew as the image of her was burned into his mind once more.  Gently, he kissed her hand, and Lily smiled even wider while James started laughing, and picked her up out of her bed to swing her around.  They both laughed out loud, and Lily was happy once more.  

As the room continued to swirl around her, Lily focused her eyes on James' dark blue ones and felt happiness that she thought she would never feel again.  

When James finally put her down, they both walked to the door and Lily used her wand (Sirius had taken James before locking him inside) and whispered "Alohomora" to the lock, and the door clicked open.  As James turned the door knob, Tracy and Sirius came tumbling through, landing on the floor in disarray, and tried to avoid the suggestive looks and winks they were given from James and Lily as they became lost in each others' eyes again for a few moments, and pulled together in a huge group hug.  

After managing to convince Madam Pomfrey into letting Lily go, the four Flooed to the Leaky Cauldron where they Apparated to Lily's flat.  

As Lily packed, with Tracy's help, Sirius and James started shrinking furniture to take with them.  In the cupboard under the stairs, the guys came along a box that was covered with dust, and obviously hadn't been looked through in a long time.  Brushing some of the dust away, James managed to read the label, which simply said 'Lily'.  James and Sirius both decided it best to open it with Lily so they both grabbed an end and heaved to Lily's room.

"Hey Lils, we found this box in the cupboard that was in the way corner.  What is it?" Sirius asked.

Lily started to tremble, and James immediately dropped his end, causing Sirius to lose his balance completely, until Tracy caught the other end.  Without hesitation, James walked over to Lily as the other two set the box down and sat with their friends on the bed.  

"That's the box of stuff that I got from my parents and grandmum.  I-I never went through it.  It was just too painful." Sirius, Tracy and James all gave her hugs and held her as she started to cry.  The two boys walked over to the box and heaved it onto the floor by the bed.  Lily and Tracy came down by the floor and Lily slowly lifted the cover off.  Photo albums, old videos, and a jewelry box were the things that were most noticeable.  Lily's tears never stopped falling, and eventually after almost everything was out, Lily spotted one last box.  

It was a simple small cardboard box, covered with brown paper and with a dried lily on top.  As Lily looked at it, she wondered what it could be, she had never seen anything like it in her house or her grandmother's house. Lily took a deep breath and opened it.  Instantly, the box started to float, hovering a few inches above her hands.  The group looked on in surprise as Lily dropped her hands, and the box continued to be suspended in air.  

All of a sudden, the box set itself on fire, and a face started to materialize in the middle of it.  An old, wrinkled, but pretty and sweet looking lady materialized in the flames, and James could see that she had emerald green eyes as well, though not as bright as Lily's.  Lily gasped and whispered,

"Grandmum?"

The face looked at her sadly and happily while it whispered,

"Hi love.  Yes Lily, it's your grandma.  It pains my heart to be doing this, but it's something that I have to do.  Lily, before I begin, I want to tell you something.  Never question your destiny.  Your life is something that you should have control over, but what needs to be done must be done.  I'm sure that you must be deeply grieved right now because the only way you can be seeing and listening to this is if I am dead.  You musn't dwell on this though child, you must move on.  

Lily, I never told you, or even your mother, but I am a witch.  Yes, you are not the only magical one in the family.  I was most disappointed when I had your mother and she wasn't magical, but then, when you were born, and I first looked at your eyes, so much like mine, I knew.  

Lily Evans, ever since you were a baby, you have been causing havoc for me and your parents.  Did you know that when you were a baby, you used to make your toys move on their own and that once, when you were angry at me for feeding you a bitter medicine, you levitated me off the ground? Dearie, you were a handful, but I was nevertheless delighted that magic had managed to find it's way into someone else in my family.  Your advanced powers and control over them got me thinking about you, something was special about you, you weren't just a witch.  Sweetie, those stories I told you when you were younger, about the Order of the Phoenix? They are real.  Just like you.  

Lily, you are a member of the Order.  You are one of the four most talented in your generation, and it is your destiny.  Now, I know you might be doubtful, but it's true Lily, you are; well now you are.  Lily, when you first got your Hogwarts letter, I was so happy for you, but also afraid.  By this time, Lord Voldemort already had a handful of supporters, and was gaining power.  If this were to happen, I knew that someone would have to re-establish the Order of the Phoenix, to protect good, and I was selfish.  

I didn't want you to have to go through that, to have to face death and stare it in the eye.  You're a brave girl Lily, I knew that if asked, you would do anything for the Good side.  So, before you left for Hogwarts, I bound your powers to me.  From then on, your powers that would give you away as a member of the Order were held back, until the day I died.  

Lily, now your powers are tripled in strength.  You will either have telekinesis, be able to freeze things in air, have the power to block spells coming at you, or you will have the power of wand less magic.  Whatever it is Lily, use it well, and never forget who you are.  Even though this is all new to you, you can't ignore it love, you can't ignore it, you have to accept your destiny.  This is your life, your legacy.  Make it worthwhile, and do it not for me, or your sweet parents, do it for you. I love you Lily.  

You are my granddaughter, and I'm sorry for all that I did to try and stop your time from coming, but it's only because I love you so much.  Well this is all Lily.  Don't forget what you've heard, and also remember that I love you.  Just incase I don't get a chance to say good bye, Good bye Lily.  I love you."  With that, the flames disappeared, and the box fell to the ground.  Sirius, Tracy and James all stared, dumbfounded at the box while Lily, tears flowing down her face as she contemplated the information in her head, buried her head into James' chest.  She couldn't deal with this now.  

Two years, it had taken her the better part of two years to let go of her parents and grandmother, and now this.  Silently, Sirius picked up the box, gathered the rest of the furniture with Tracy's help, and the four of them Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron once more, and then Flooed to Hogwarts.  

While Tracy and Sirius split up to look for Dumbledore who wasn't currently in his office, James and Lily continued to hold each other, James resting his chin on Lily's head.  Lily finally regained her composure and pulled away.  James' eyes were still full of concern as he looked into Lily's eyes once more.  

Leaning down, James held Lily close again and kissed her on the cheek.  Lily pulled back once more, and their eyes locked.  Unable to break away, James only stood, frozen as Lily, slowly moved her face closer to his.  

Now, with only inches between their faces, Lily rested her forehead against James' and their noses rubbed together in an Eskimo kiss.  Unable to control himself anymore, James shifted his head and placed his lips on Lily's and they shared their first real kiss after two long years apart.

A/N: Welll….I hope you guys like it!! I got kinda carried away in the writing, this chapter didn't go AT ALL as planned, but I thought it turned out pretty well ^_^ I'll have the next chapter up HOPEFULLY Friday night, if not Saturday, promise!! REVIEW PLEASE!!! I accept anonymous reviews too so ^_^_^_^ Happy reading!!

~*Priscilla*~


	6. Chapter 6: The Order of the Phoenix

~*Swear On My Life*~

By: silver_star  ^_^

Disclaimer: What you know J.K. owns, what you don't is all the product of my brilliant mind ^_^

A/N: Yay! I got another chapter out! I'm sooo S-O-R-R-Y-!-!-! I know I said I'd update Friday/Saturday of last week, and its been 3 weeks, but I didn't expect the massive amounts of hw that I'd get plus all these choir competitions….aiyah! Junior year of high school REALLY sucks…oi!! Well, I really hope you enjoy this chappie, it's not that action filled, but I really like it (one of my better creative moments ^_^) and I hope you will too, happy reading!

End of Chapter 5…

Unable to control himself any more, James shifted his head and placed his lips on Lily's and they shared their first real kiss after two long years apart.

Chapter 6:  The Order of the Phoenix

            It was perfect.  Lily placed her hand on James' cheek and James tightened his hold around Lily's waist.  The kiss was very sweet, not rushed, not even very passionate, but filled with love and so much tenderness that Lily was a little surprised.  As the kiss ended, their faces lingered inches apart, and Lily started giggling.  James smiled, and pulled her into an even tighter hug, and swung her around in the air, both of them laughing harder than they had in a long time. 

            After about ten minutes of running frantically through out the halls, Tracy and Sirius met back at in front of the Gryffindor common room, where they had decided to meet.

"So you couldn't find him either huh?" Tracy said

"Nope, checked everywhere. We should get back to Lily soon though, she definitely didn't look so good."  Sirius replied, "Come on, we'll try for Dumbledore again later maybe he's in his bedroom some where behind one of these portraits and statues."

"Yea, okay." Tracy said.  'Weird, Dumbledore usually isn't anywhere like that, he's always around when it's during school hours' she thought.  

"Looking for me?" a voice said.

"Professor! You have to come quickly, Lily found something…anyway, you should see it for yourself," Tracy said, quickly filling Dumbledore in while she started to walk faster.  

"Let's go then."

            When the trio arrived once more at the statue of the griffin, James and Lily were talking silently, and when she saw the headmaster, Lily's face broke into a huge grin. 

"Hello Professor!  Thank you for meeting with us."  Lily said.  Tracy and Sirius immediately brightened, happy that Lily was feeling better and acting more like her usual, cheery self.  

"The pleasure is all mine Ms. Evans.  Please excuse my tardiness, I was exploring the castle and got stuck between a few temperamental stairs.  Well Ms. Evans, Mr. Black and Ms. Williams have informed me about our present situation (because u know the story, and I don't wanna retell it ^_^) and I believe it's time that I perform the Soul Charm on you. First, we'll need to go into my office, and I would also like to see the box Ms. Evans."

Dumbledore gave the password, and they all stood on the ascending steps silently while Lily handed Dumbledore the little box.  When they arrived, James and Sirius both plopped down on the arm chairs like they had done so many times in the past and Tracy stood with Lily.  Professor Dumbledore got out his wand, then muttered, "Almarecium"   

At first, the light that the wand emitted simply lingered around Lily.  Then, in a rush of light, the silver halo became focused on her body and a faint red phoenix, sure enough, hovered above her heart, slowly growing darker. 

"Well, Ms. Evans, there's nothing left to say but, Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix."  Professor Dumbledore concluded.  Lily was immediately swept up into a fury of hugs, kisses, and constant cheering, and everyone was laughing.

"Congratulations Ms. Evans.  Now if you'll all settle down a bit, I think it's time that we perform the initiation ceremony." Dumbledore said.

Tracy, Sirius and James all looked at him a bit puzzled,

"Initiation ceremony? How come we never had one before?" Sirius asked.

"Well you see Mr. Black, the initiation ceremony is something less known.  In fact, the only reference we have had to the existence of something like it, comes directly out of the journals of Merlin, perhaps the greatest wizard of all time.  The ceremony can only be performed when the Order has been reunited, and when it is finished, I believe that you will all be able to direct your powers and focus them into one; in others words, sort of like a combined attack.  Legend tells of the Order's abilities to defeat anything and everything, this development may be it.  If, when the ceremony is finished, you four are able to combine your powers of freezing, blocking, telekinesis and an assist spell provided by the member with the ability to do wandless magic, it is my theory that that attack will be legend tells of, the supreme power."

As the quintet (hehe fun word!) walked down the corridors towards one of the Northern towers, Dumbledore suddenly stopped in front of a portrait.  Sirius and James in particular recognized it, they had suspected that it had hidden something, but nothing ever showed up when they put it on the map, and none of the other portraits would give anything away about it.  The portrait showed a magnificent, blood red phoenix with beautiful golden plumage and tail feathers that matched Lily's dark red and shiny hair.  Pointing his wand directly at the phoenix, Dumbledore muttered an incantation,

" Sicut Erat Adonius" 

The phoenix stopped flying and floated easily down to the bottom frame of the picture.  Spreading its wings out, as if preparing to take flight, it waved it's tail feathers at the five expectantly.  

"Uhhh, Professor, what exactly is the phoenix trying to do??" Sirius questioned.

"Oh come on you prat, it wants us to grab on!" Tracy replied, rolling her eyes and causing Lily to giggle a bit.

"Well how is it supposed to carry the five of us, A) it's tiny, and B) it's kind of, oh I dunno, 2 dimensional?? And in a picture too!" Sirius retorted, still unconvinced.

"Honestly Sirius! You're a part of the Order of the PHOENIX and you don't even know about phoenixes do you?? They can carry immensely heavy loads bright one, and if you haven't noticed, we live in a world of magic, I don't think the fact that the bird is in a frame and only 2D necessarily means that there's no way that it can carry us somewhere, am I right Professor?" Tracy said lazily. 

Trying to hold back laughter, Lily caught James' eye and he winked at her and grinned.  Lily knew that James was thinking exactly what she was thinking.  They were so obvious! 'Even Dumbledore must know by now, LoL!' Lily thought to herself.

"Indeed you are Ms. Williams.  Now if you please, kindly reach out, and touch one of the phoenix's tail feathers." Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling merrily, and lips quirked upwards in a slight smile.

One by one, they reached out to touch one of the bird's gleaming feathers.  When the last finger touched, the four felt a sudden lurch, kind of like as if traveling by Port Key, and the next second, they were all, with the exception of Dumbledore, sprawled on the floor in a giant heap, all very confused, and some very irritable.

"James get your bulk off my back!!"

"Why Lily, I thought you'd like Jamesie boy there!"

"SIRIUS BLACK I AM GONNA KILL YOU!!!"  
"Not unless I get him first Lil! Sirius that's my head you're crushing by the way."

"OWWWWWW"

"Hey whose robe is my head up in?? I can't see anything…"

"It's not my robe, if it was, you wouldn't be alive right now!"  
"It's not mine either…"

"SIRIUS GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THERE!!!"

"Geez, Jamesie no need to shout…oi…o there we go! No wait, still can't see anything…"

"HELP ME!!! SIRIUS' BUTT IS COMING AT MY HEAD AGAIN!!!"

Professor Dumbledore watched this all very amusedly, chuckling to himself and debating with himself over letting the four stay entangled, or helping them out.  After a few more minutes of utter confusion, and many wrongly placed attempts at abuse, Dumbledore held out his wand again and muttered a spell.  In the next instant, four figures levitated a few feet off the ground, all looking very disheveled.  

James for one, had his robe half way up and over his head, and his shirt underneath was very rumpled.  His hair could still be seen poking through the top of the robe though, and his glasses lay on the floor, where the heap of people used to be.  

Lily was gripping her hand to her stomach; an injury caused by Tracy who was trying to kick Sirius.  Her hair was very messy, and her robe was hanging off her right arm, but still attached to the body because she had buttoned it up part way.  

Tracy was red with fury.  Her shirt was very messed up, and many loose strands had fallen from her pony tail.  Her right pant leg was hiked up a bit, and while her left one was still normal, but very rumpled.  She had both hands on her temples, fingers massaging them lightly at first, then increasing with pressure when she spotted Sirius.  

Sirius, on the other hand, still didn't really know what was going on, and was struggling with two robes, one that was kind of on his body, and the other which was over his head.  He kept trying to force his head through one of the arm holes, and failing miserably, all the while screaming, "HELP ME! STUCK!! CAN'T…BREATHE…AAACCCHHH (gagging sound ^_^)" 

Now all four of them were laughing (excluding Sirius) and Dumbledore managed to disentangle Sirius from the robes and Tracy slipped back into her was damaged, now newly repaired robe.  When their feet hit the ground, and they were able to take in the surroundings better, all four were stunned.  What they hadn't noticed before in the brief moments of chaos was that they were in a room, completely made of silver.  

Crystal candle holders were attached onto the walls every few feet, and the red candles burned brightly, but let no melted wax fall to the ground.  In the middle of the room was a single table, made up of glass, containing a crystal goblet in the center.  On the floor were four circles which had been carved into the silver floor, each located on a side of the table. (So if you don't get it, table=four sides, on each side, there's a circle…  here   O |table| O …see? There's also circles on the top and bottom ^_^)  Off to the side, parallel to the table was a single square box.  

Held in awe by the beauty of the room, all thoughts were forgotten, and though they really didn't know what to do, something inside of them lead each of them to a circle on the ground, and Dumbledore to the square.  When everyone was located inside a shape, the goblet began to shake, uncontrollably.  Slowly at first, but increasing in speed, when it suddenly stopped as bluebell flames started to dance in it. The candles that had been lighting the room extinguished themselves immediately, and the blue flames rose higher than before.  The strong blue light caused the crystal candle holders to glitter in the dark from afar, twinkling like unseen stars in the dark night sky.  The circles started to glimmer, then emitted an eerie red light, casting a red sheen on the bottom halves of their bodies, and Dumbledore's square began to shine silver.  In an even, strong tone, Dumbledore began,

"You are all here today because in spite of all your difference, there is one thing that you all share in common: a love for light and scorn and contempt for evil.  You are the Order of the Phoenix, the first to be reunited ever since the days of Merlin and the founders of Hogwarts themselves.  If you'll look on the table, you'll see that their names have been engraved in the table."

Immediately, all four pairs of eyes flickered to the table.  James noted that he had gotten the side that was engraved with 'Godric Gryffindor, July 17, 1077 A.D.'  Lily smiled inwardly as she read the curvy scripture that read 'Rowena Ravenclaw, November 27, 1077 A.D.' and Sirius looked hesitantly at the strong bold writing that read, 'Salazar Slytherin, March 8, 1077 A.D.'  Looking up at Dumbledore once more, the four listened intently as he continued,

"Now it is your turn to leave your mark here.  Starting from the oldest to the youngest, please say your full names, and your birthdays after." Dumbledore said.

"Sirius Orion Black, January 4, 1962"  In an instant, the former scripture vanished, and in its place, in slightly sloppy, but bold handwriting, Sirius' name and birthdate appeared.  "Cool!" Sirius exclaimed.

"James Harrison Potter, June 17, 1962" His name also appeared in the glass table, in a hand that was legible and neat, but, compared to Sirius', kind of small.

"Tracy Amanda Williams, September 7, 1962"  'Helga Hufflepuff' instantly vanished, and was replaced with Tracy's name and birthdate in swirly, elegant, neat writing.

"Lily Nicolette Evans, December 12, 1962"  Lily smiled and shivered in excitement as her name appeared on the table in her usually hand, flowing graceful, simple and strong. 

The flames in the goblet danced higher, and started to spark for a minute.  After a shower of red and orange sparks, a dagger appeared on the table facing Sirius. On its' hilt was a picture of a phoenix, of course, and Dumbledore started to speak,

"This part of the ceremony is rather painful, but necessary.  Firstly, prick your finger, prick not cut or slice or dice, prick your finger tip, and let a drop of blood fall into the flame.  Pass the knife to James, Sirius, and James, you'll do the same."

Sirius winced slightly as the cold metal broke his skin, but as soon as the drop had fallen into the goblet, the wound closed.  The flames continued to dance, but were slowly changing color, now they were a faint red, not pink, but still red.  

James took the knife easily, and without much trouble or too many pained expressions, allowed a drop of blood to drip into the goblet also, and marveled the beauty of the flames as they turned a true red.  Tracy quickly poked her finger and let the blood roll off into the center of the flames before handing the knife to Lily.  The flames were now a deep scarlet color, and almost liquid looking.  

Lily didn't hesitate, and applied gentle pressure to break the skin, and squeezed a drop out and into the goblet.  The flames reached towards the ceiling now, blood red, tossing with anguish and magical energy.  Lily couldn't see anyone anymore, but focused on the base of the flames, where the color was darkest.  Through the noise of the flames, Lily heard Dumbledore to tell them to join hands.  Her hand soon found Sirius' and Tracy's.  Suddenly, Lily saw the words appear from the goblet and hover in front of her face.  It was an incantation, perhaps of spell of sorts, and it was worded in Latin,

"Requiem Pacem,

  Dona Nobis Ehru,

  Magnificat Mea,

  Anima Lia…"

Slowly, Lily started to say the words out loud, and not before long, she could hear other voices joining her.  As they chanted together, increasing the intensity of the words with each repetition, the flames from the goblet now licked hungrily at each of them, a live, tossing vision of blood red and orange, glittery sparks.  After around the seventh time, the flames suddenly vanished, and the room filled with an almost blinding, heavenly, ethereal white light.  As they continued to chant, the light continued to fill the room.  It spread into all the corners and made the silver room almost blinding to look at.  Suddenly, the four circles started to glow with a white light also, and soon, Lily, James, Tracy and Sirius were all enveloped in the light, and Lily could feel its coolness as it spread around her and hugged her body.  

They were now hovering a bit above the floor, and though she had no idea where it was coming from, Lily could feel air whipping her hair back from her face.  She couldn't really see anything else, but she could feel Tracy and Sirius' hands gripping hers.  Slowly, the light started to leave her body; looking down, Lily could see the tiny phoenix above her heart, as if a Soul Charm had been done, and Lily could see gold plumage on it now.  In an instant the light vanished from the room, and Lily wobbled a little as her feet hit the ground once more.  They stopped chanting, though, as a kind of tense silence filled the room.  

Before they could ask Dumbledore anything though, an eerie song started to fill the room.  At first, Lily thought she was simply imagining it, but she saw by the look on James' face that she wasn't alone.  It was mystifying and calming song that seemed to lift all the worries and fears from her shoulders.  Looking around for the source, Lily's eyes met Professor Dumbledore's, and he smiled at her as he beckoned towards the goblet.  Resting her eyes back on the goblet, Lily realized that there was a pile of red ashes at the bottom, quite a large pile actually.  The ashes filled about a fourth of the goblet, and looking closer (James, Sirius and Tracy had caught on by now,) Lily saw that the pile was shifting slowly, twitching every few minutes.  

Minutes later, a small tiny head poked out of the ashes, and then wings and a small tail.  The four stood and watched in awe as a tiny baby phoenix slowly drew itself up, and struggled to fly.  Its body began to take on a red glow as it was floated over to Professor Dumbledore's outstretched hand.  It let out a soft sound, and the phoenix song continued to play even stronger as the baby phoenix started to cry to heal its tiny body.  

"Sirius, would you please come over here? I'd like you to do something for us."

Sirius stepped out of his circle, which continued to glow, and approached the head master questioningly, wondering what he wanted.  

"Please freeze me five of this fine young bird's tears," Dumbledore said, "and not too harshly; they might shatter or lose their magical capabilities if you do."

Five large pearly drops were frozen instantly by Sirius and handed to Dumbledore.  Using his wand, Dumbledore conjured five black suede cords and slowly floated the frozen tears, and directed one to each of the cords.  Looking down expectantly at the baby phoenix in his hand, Dumbledore gave it a piercing look, and after receiving a feeble nod, gently clipped away (so he's not hurting the phoenix) four tiny tail feathers.  After imbedding them into the necklaces, Dumbledore flicked his wand, and each necklace found its way to a person.  As Dumbledore said their names once more, the necklaces drifted down onto the recipient's neck, and twinkled uncertainly.  Then, Dumbledore said,

"Well, what shall we name this handsome fellow then?"

Sirius immediately burst out "Sirius!"

And though they all shared a laugh, it was Lily who eventually came up with the perfect name,

"Fawkes.  Lets call him Fawkes."

Sirius frowned playfully, commenting,

"You'd pick Fawkes over Sirius?? Puh-LEASE! But it does sort of have a ring to it I guess."

James and Tracy voiced their agreements, and it was unanimous.

"Fawkes it is then." Dumbledore continued, "This phoenix is the product of goodness; your friendship, magical power and desire for peace in this world.  It will be loyal not only to me, but to anyone else who shares your qualities; its loyalty to our group is immortal and endless, just like its life.  Though life is full of twists, turns and more than a handful of dark times, we must all learn to pick up from there, discard the past and be reborn, with a new attitude, and a desire to live for the better and for forever. (This is my attempt at an analogy ^_^ cuz phoenixes are reborn from their ashes ya knoe…ok I knoe, I'll stop trying hehe ^_^)"  

            Then, carrying Fawkes with him, Dumbledore moved from his square towards the portrait hole once more.  Sirius, James, Tracy and Lily all followed him, but Lily lingered a while.  She traced her signature with her finger and smiled.  This was where she belonged, and this was what she was meant to do.  All those years she felt so lost, confused and scared about what her future would hold; now she knew that it was all for nothing, her legacy was about to begin, and she couldn't be happier.

A/N: FINISHED FINALLY!!! Hehehe! I started writing this chappie last Monday in bits and pieces cuz of all the school work and its done!! SORRRRRRY again for the wait!!! Sorry! SO how did you like it?!?? Good?? I hope so! REVIEW TO LET ME KNOW!!! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!! I didn't get as many last time…wah! But, I'm not a review nazi, so even if you guys don't review I'll still be writing as always ^_^ As for the situation with Fawkes, yes I'm well aware that Voldie's wand has a feather from the little guy in it that can't be true if Fawkes was created after Voldie got his first wand, but lets pretend that the wand he has with Fawkes feather in it is his second wand…he, err,  broke the first one and had to get a new one kk?? ^_^_^_^ I only did it cuz I thought of it (creation of Fawkes) before I realized that (Fawkes had to be around for Voldie to get a wand with his tail feather in it) but didn't feel like changing it cuz I think it's sweet if Harry's wand, which also has a feather from Fawkes in it, came from phoenix created by his parents; so its like in a sense his parents are always with him, you get it? Well that's my take on it anyhow! ^_^ Hope you liked this chappie and remember REVIEW!! ^_^ am I too subtle, LoL! Happy reading!

Next chapter (out march 23, no earlier due to major piano test coming up march 22 and my desperate need to practice so I don't fail ^_^):  Training session, more J/L developments-rediscovering each other, and falling in love all over again, S/T developments-I won't say for better/for worse ^_^ Remus makes an appearance!! (I love remmie ^_^), hang time with all the friends, AND future plans ^_^ I think you guys will really like what I have coming up hehehehehe ^_^_^ see ya 3/23! ^_^_^_^_^

~*Priscilla*~


	7. Chapter 7: Love to Hate You

Swear On My Life

By: silver_star ^_^

Disclaimer: No, I'm not J.K. Rowling (Though I knoe how u could easily confuse the two of us ^_^_^ j/k!) and I don't own Harry Potter so don't sue!!  
  
A/N:  Hi everyone! I'm back!! Well, I read all your reviews (THANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!! I LOVE YOU ALLLL!!!!) and now that my piano test is all over with and SATs aren't 4 a while, I decided 2 update again…^_^ hope you like how this chappie turns out, and I promise it won't be dreadfully long b4 I review again…CHAMBER OF SECRETS IS FINALLY OUT ON DVD!!!! HEHE!! ^_^_^_^_^ this week is my spring break though so I'll be updating this fic then and launching a new one that takes place during the Hogwarts years ^_^…ok enough yappering, here we go!

Chapter 7:  Love to Hate You

"FOCUS!" Dumbledore yelled as Lily took yet another shot at the charmed robe.  It was putting up quite a fight and James, Sirius and Tracy were all laughing as they watched Lily's face get more and more deadly.  Her eyes flashed dangerously and her muscles were tense.  Strands of hair were escaping from her pony tail and the back of her sports top was soaked through with perspiration.  The robe twirled her wand with it's charmed sleeve and its hood and body shook with what could only be silent laughter as it dodged yet another one of Lily's attacks.  

Sirius laughed along wth Tracy and James who was laughing so hard that tears were coming out of his eyes, something that hadn't happened for a while now.  Lily paused and closed her eyes, hunching her shoulders forward in defeat.  Well, mock defeat apparently.  As the robe approached her; wand outstretched, Lily spun into a flying backwards kick, hit the hood of the robe, then grabbed her wand and twisted left and right harshly, but to no avail; the grip that that robe had was phenomenal.  Aborting that plan, Lily quickly aimed a high front kick at the hood of the robe, making contact.  The robe recoiled and attempted to wrap around her but missed as Lily did a graceful backwards flip over it and grabbed her wand again with her right hand, this time keeping her grip, as she yelled "Immobilus!"  

A jet of brilliant white light shot out from her flexed left hand and hit the robe, which promptly froze and gave Lily the perfect opportunity to yank her wand free.  James, Tracy and Sirius all jumped up and cheered from their side seats as Lily turned around to face them beaming happily only to meet Professor Dumbledore's stern face.

"Sorry Professor, I know I wasn't supposed to do that, but hey, I got the wand back right?"  Lily fixed an innocent look on her face that Dumbledore couldn't help but smile as he recalled the numerous times he had seen it back in their Hogwarts days when she was covering for yet another one of the Marauders' pranks.  

"Alright Ms. Evans, I'll let you go this once.  But only because it was your first time, you three" Dumbledore continued, giving the others pointed looks, "on the other hand, I expect to finish within the first fifteen minutes, and no games!"  Tracy, Sirius and James all smiled and nodded with innocent looks of their own, and Professor Dumbledore started to chuckle as he turned back around to face Lily.

"So Professor, how did I do?"  Lily asked while she took a seat next to Tracy and grabbed her towel and water bottle.

"Very good actually Ms. Evans, I'm proud.  First hit on the robe within the first minute, caught only once and escaped in two minutes, contact with the wand after ten minutes and finished in a total of twenty-one minutes.  You were very quick and have a great stamina, I'm impressed.  Most of your hits made contact, though some also didn't; we'll have to work on that, and your focus.  In the end though, for the first time, I'd say great job Ms. Evans." Dumbledore finished.

James, Sirius and Tracy all cheered some more, and Lily beamed shyly and happily.  God, she's beautiful…she looks so cute when she's all flushed and her hair's like that…and black looks very very nice on her James thought to himself, grinning outwardly like a love sick fool.  Tracy noticed, and rolled her eyes as she turned back to Lily with a slight smirk on her face.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Nothing…" Tracy answered.

Lily looked at her suspiciously, but turned her attention back to Dumbledore.

"Well, now that you all have had your turns, I think we can end a bit early for today, give you four some time to catch up.  I do want you back here tomorrow though; preferably around noon so that you can join us here for a proper lunch, and then we'll do some more rounds, and talk about possible attacks.  Things have been quiet for a while, and I don't like it.  I also have another thing to discuss with you, nothing bad, but we'll talk about that tomorrow.  Good bye you four, I'll see you tomorrow." Dumbledore said.

"Yes professor," They replied in unison.  Grabbing their towels and water bottles, the four headed for the entrance back into the school.  They were currently practicing on a patch of grass near the Quidditch pitch that wasn't in use currently since the season was yet to begin.  Back inside Dumbledore's office, they all bid the Professor farewell, and used Floo Powder to get back to Godric's Hollow where James, Sirius and Tracy currently lived.  

            After the four had a fun dinner (they each conjured up what they wanted, nothing formal) in the living room, Tracy and Sirius both left to go take showers (in separate bathrooms people, come on they're still friends!!), and James and Lily remained.  As Lily stretched out once more on the comfortable, worn leather couch, James stretched out next to it on the floor with his back on the side of the couch (you get it…he's on the floor, back on the front of the couch…the edge part, she's on the couch).  Sighing contentedly, Lily thought for the first time that night about the events that had happened earlier.  It had only been a few days, but she had never really thought about any of it. She thought about it now though.  About her life.  About the kiss.  About James.  Did he love him? She wasn't even sure she knew him anymore…it had been two years, a whole two years that changed Lily in many ways.  As James closed his eyes and rested his the back of his head on the couch cushion that Lily's head was on, she giggled and immediately reached out for his hair.  As if on instinct, James' hand immediately shot up and grabbed hers as he opened his eyes, grinning at her.

"You haven't changed a bit, you know that Lil? You always did have a crazy obsession with my hair."  James commented, dropping her hand and closing his eyes once more.

            Lily sighed and thought about it some more.  Why had she kissed him? She promised to herself after her parents died that she would never be emotionally attached to anyone again.  Lily knew that she wouldn't be able to live through another loss like that, it would rip her apart even more.

Lily rolled onto her side and unconsciously started playing with his hair, messing it up a bit more and braiding some strands.  James didn't appear to mind, only let a small smile spread across his face.  After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Lily realized what she was doing and stopped.  'No… I can't fall for him again…I can't!'  Lily rolled over, now facing the back of the couch, away from James.  'I can't become emotionally attached…plus either of us could be killed any second now, it's too risky anyways…'

Thinking about the very same subject, James was also pondering the recent events…

'I wonder what Lily's thinking about.  What should I tell her? I love her…I know I do. But does she love me? Of course she does…after all she kissed ya right? I'm so glad I found her again. She makes me feel complete…I love her.'

"Hey Lils?" 

"Yea…" Lily replied softly.

James got up on one knee, and slowly lifted Lily's chin up with one hand so that he could see her face.  Looking directly into her eyes, he felt his heart melt.  He loved her so much.  Lily of course felt the same way, only, looking into James' intense midnight blue eyes, she noted that it was harder now to avoid her feelings for him, but she had to…James then took a deep breath, and taking her hand into his hand said……….

"I love you, Lily."   (HAHA for all of you that thought he was gonna propose…muahaha!!! It's WAY too early for that people!!!!)

            Immediately, Lily looked away.  'No I can't lose it now, I can't!!!! Come on Lil, be angry, do it for him, do it for you…'  If there was one thing Lily could do, she could act, and that's exactly what she did.

            "What are you talking about James?! You LOVE me?? We haven't even spoken to each other in over two years, and just because of one kiss in one of my more vulnerable moments, you decide that you love me?! You're crazy James!! You're acting like a fourth year!!!"  Lily yelled as she shot up from her position to face James.

James was now at a definite loss for words.  At first he felt hurt…but then…'what the hell is she talking about!!!!'  Sub-consciously, James' mind was already putting up walls.  'Does she think I was actually serious?! Yea right!! I was only kidding…hah, me love someone, whatever…'

            "What the hell are you talking about?!? I'm crazy?!? What the HELL are you talking about!?!" James retorted, standing up now.  Lily was quick to follow.

            "What am I talking about? You telling me you love me! How could you even say it James? In fact, what made you think I actually forgave you for what you did to me at the end of seventh year?!  I hate you James Potter!!!!!!  I dunno what the hell has gotten into me these past few days, I must have gone through some kinda emotional breakdown cuz you know what, I HATE YOU!!!!!"  Lily shouted.

            " Yea, well, I HATE YOU MORE!!!"

            "DO NOT!"

            "DO TOO!"

            "DO NOT!"

            "DO NOT!"

            "DO TOO!"  

            "HAH, you always fell for that James.  You're so stupid!!!!"  
            "Shut up!"

            "WHY DON'T YOU?!? Stupid prat!!"

            "Fireball!!"

            "Ass hole!"

            "Bitch!"

            "Incompetent, egotistical jackass!"

            "OH YEA!?!? Carrot Top!"

            "GAH!! Four eyes!!!"  
            "Oh real original, LILYKINS!!!"

            "JAIME-JAMSEY-POO!!!"

            "DON'T CALL ME THAT!!"

            "YOU BROUGHT IT UPON YOURSELF!!!"

            "I HATE YOU!!!!"

            "DITTO!!!!"

            Both fuming and red with fury, they broke apart, and marched away from each other.  James pounded off towards his room, and Lily stomped her way to the door to the kitchen and kicked the door open with her foot.

            James slammed his door shut, and collapsed on his bed.  After he spotted them, James went over and jammed his boxing gloves onto his hands.  He then went over to his punching bag which he rarely ever used, and proceeded to punch the hell out of it. He gave it one final punch, and stopped abruptly, causing the bag to bounce back and hit him squarely on the forehead. 

            "DAMN IT!!!" James swore loudly as he clutched a hand to his forehead and aimed a kick at the bag, but missed and ended up tripping himself. 

            Lily banged her way into the kitchen, still fuming.  She stomped over to the pantry and nearly took the door off its hinges as she flung it open with force.  Swinging it back harshly, Lily continued and stalked over to the freezer. (Yes they have one…for when they don't feel like conjuring food) Yanking the door open, the jars started clanging against one another and threatened to break, luckily Lily spotted the carton of ice cream on the side, and didn't have to hurl all the frozen food entrees out of the freezer to find it.  Slamming the door shut, Lily stomped over to the cabinet and yanked at a drawer, searching for a spoon.  She picked up the first thing her hand came in contact with and when Lily realized it was a fork, she hurled it at the wall, where it stayed; its prongs jutting out from the otherwise pleasant wall. Three forks later (all of which ended up on various spots in the wall), Lily let out a growl and grabbed at yet another fork, then ripped the lid off the ice cream. She hurled it across the room and was about to dig ferociously into the carton when the carton exploded all over her because of her immense anger and frustration at the moment.  Dripping in cookie dough ice cream, Lily's face contorted, and she let out a loud, frustrated shriek.

~*LateR ThaT NighT*~

            After taking a long hot shower, which Lily only ended due to Tracy's persistent bugging, and her attempting to break down the bathroom door, Lily now lay face down on her bed, mumbling incoherently into her pillow while Tracy sat next to her, trying to understand her best friend.  Sighing, and rolling her eyes, Tracy gave up on attempting to make sense of Lily's muffled speech, and instead, assumed what Lily was talking about,

            "So, you said you hated him cuz yur afraid of commitment right now, and he got all pissy cuz he is James, and now you two are at it again??"  Tracy asked jokingly. 

            Lily looked up from her pillow.

            "I'm sooo stupid…" Lily stated.  Then she promptly dropped her face back into the pillow and started mumbling once more.  Now a bit more frustrated and a good deal surprised, Tracy let out an aggravated sigh and rolled Lily over rather forcefully,

            "Lily snap out of it! How about we have a regular conversation, you and me, minus the pillow so I can figure out what's actually going on between the two of you crazy love birds." Tracy said.

            "LOVE BIRDS?!?!?! HaH! I HATE James Potter!"

            "Lily!!! You know you don't!! Come on! Explain."

            Sighing, Lily grudgingly pulled herself into a sitting position, though she was slouching against the headboard of the bed.  

            "Trace I can't. I can't love him. You…you wouldn't understand." Lily whispered, clutching a pillow to her chest.

            "Lily! I've known you since we were 11, since the day we first came to Hogwarts. I know you better than you know yourself I'll have YOU know! Lily, really, there's no excuse this time.  I know you were hurt and I know you feel as if you can't love again…it hurts too much to lose people.  But Lils, come on, I lost my parents too.  You have to get outta this rut, you can't let it control your life.  Fear is normal, it's perfectly normal human reaction."  Tracy said knowingly.

            "Tracy, I am NOT afraid!!!"  Lily lied.  Not good enough.

            "Like hell you aren't!!! It's okay Lil, that doesn't make you any weaker," 

            "I'm NOT!  I just haven't forgiven him for what he did yet.  That's what hurt Trace.  But to hell with him! I HATE HIM!!!!!"  Lily finished.  This time, it seemed to have worked.  Tracy was still looking a bit suspicious, but she put the subject off.  

            "OK fine then, well, I'm gonna go get some sleep…remember meeting with Dumbledore's tomorrow early, and it's already almost 2 am now, so you should catch some Zs too…Good night Lils."

            "Nitey nite."

            Once Tracy left, shutting and locking the door behind her, Lily let all her emotions out.  Crying softly, she turned off the lights with a wave of her hand, and stretched out on the bed.  Lily curled up into a little ball, and reached up to wipe away some of the tears.  As she started to lower her hand though, Lily's fingers found the star locket that still hung around her neck.  She stopped crying immediately as the warmth spread through her body.  A faint smile adorned her face, and as she started to fall into a peaceful sleep, Lily frowned suddenly.  Eyes still closed, her fingers released the locket, and it fell back onto the pillow with a soft thud.  Hesitantly, Lily's hands reached up to find the clasp on the fine chain.  As Lily started to fall asleep again, tears once again rewetted her cheeks while the star locket continued to glimmer in a beam of moonlight, from its spot on the edge of the windowsill closest to Lily's bed.

~*ThE MorninG AfteR…*~

            James yawned widely and stretched his arms out above him as he woke up from a deep sleep. Slowly, he blinked, and reached to his right for his glasses, only to discover that they weren't there.  Groaning in annoyance, James continued to feel around for his glasses, but they weren't there.  Then James remembered what had happened the night before.  About Lily, and their fight.  Sighing, James buried his head deeper into his pillow, and stopped feeling for his glasses.  What had gone wrong? One minute they were two people in love, the next they were back to where they started, just two friends…well actually more like two people who happened to have the same friends, who also couldn't stand each other.  'It's all my fault…I shouldn't have pushed her…god, what was I thinking?!'  

James let out a groan as the alarm clock started to ring once more. 'What am I talking about? Of course it was her fault…that stubborn little piece of…oh I'll get her back for this.'  This time, James found his glasses (they had dropped onto the floor) and managed to pull himself up and out of bed, and into the shower.  After James got out of the shower, he finished getting ready, and picked out a pair of dark denim jeans to wear with his favorite black shirt.  He attempted once more to get his hair to stay neat, but ended up messing up even more, and so, grumbling all the way, James decided to get downstairs instead after grabbing a fresh robe (black too) and pulling on some shoes.

            As James walked into the kitchen, he was greeted by the fresh aroma of coffee and two hellos.  Sirius and Tracy were talking about something, while Lily sat at the kitchen counter reading a copy of the Daily Prophet and drinking a cup of hot coffee.  After pouring himself a cup, he proceeded to glare at Lily (which Lily kindly returned with an evil look), he went over to Sirius,

            "Morning, Sirius, Trace" James said.

            "Morning," they replied in unison. Sirius then continued while Tracy set off to find the extra stash of Floo powder.

            "Hey, how come you didn't say hi to your girlfriend." Sirius asked innocently.

            In less then a second, poor Sirius was answered by a flying newspaper which made contact with his head, and he was also forced to freeze an oncoming doughnut as both James and Lily shouted,

            "HE/SHE'S NOT MY BOY/GIRLFRIEND!"

            "Geez, touuuuchy!" Sirius said in a mock hurt voice.  Then grinning evily, he left to 'go help Tracy' as he put it.  He was already filled in about the events of yesterday by Tracy this morning, and he was nice enough to take it upon himself to torture James and Lily about their true feelings until they actually got back together.  

            Lily and James were now both alone in the kitchen, both drinking coffee, one staring off into nothingness and the other reading a newspaper, both stealing glances at the other at different times ^_^.  Lily shuddered inwardly as the familiar scent of James' cologne reached her nose.  'So he still wears the same stuff…god I miss him. I love the way he smells….come on Lily, shake yourself outta this!!! Aiya….'  

            James, who was stealing glances at Lily every couple of minutes, couldn't help, but let his heart get the better of him.  'She's so beautiful.  I love how she looks when she's doing nothing…so calm and serene…and she still tucks her hair behind her ears when she reads…ugh, no, what am I doing!??! Oh god, what am I doing…I hate this!!'  James thought harshly to himself.

            After a few tense moments, Lily decided to speak first,

            "Why does Dumbledore want to see us again?"

            "Oh sorry, were you talking to me? I didn't here my name" James replied nonchalantly.

            "No shit Potter, who else is in this room?" Lily shot back angrily.  

            "Well, you never know, knowing you, you could've easily been talking to yourself." James replied, hoping to get Lily riled up.  He always thought she looked cutest then, plus when she was angry, she usually let her real feelings slip.

            "SHUT UP Potter, I don't feel like yelling right now.  Why don't you just be a good little boy and go play with some dolls or something? Too bad we aren't still at Hogwarts, that way you could go snog with one of those blonde bimbos you dated." Lily said.  Smiling to herself, Lily went back to her coffee, knowing that she had touched a sensitive spot on James' temper.  If there was anything that James Potter hated, it was people calling him a player, and referring to his past girlfriends as stupid blondes.  Sure he had gone out with a few girls back in his school years, but they weren't all stupid blondes, in fact, most of them were quite intelligent, just not for him.  That and he never played them, so that term was one he NEVER had liked.  (As you can tell, I don't like James when he's a player and I don't think it's possible to be as popular as everyone makes the Marauders out to be…especially at Hogwarts, I think it should be a friendlier place…except when it comes to Slytherins ^_^ I don't think it's like a regular high school though, not as much drama, more action and adventure hehe!0

            "Atleast I had relationships Evans, you're so immature, why would you bring up something like that? That's SO old! And for the last time, they weren't stupid, and I was NOT a player! I only went out with like four people including you!" James retorted angrily.

            "HAH only four?! You mean at once right, please James learn to count? Or did you lose track after your five hundredth snog?? Huh?" Lily shouted back at him.

            "It was not five hundred, and it doesn't matter because the only one I really cared about was you!" James yelled out.  Instantly after though, seeing the smirk on Lily's face, he realized what he had said, and got even madder. 

            "HAH, so you do love me! I knew it! You are pathetic James Potter.  Completely pathetic." Lily replied, sipping her coffee and reading the newspaper once more.

            "I NEVER SAID THAT! I SAID CARED!!"  
            "SO WHAT!? SAME THING!!!"  
            "IS NOT!"  
            "IS TOO!"  
            "IS NOT!"

            "Oh shut up you two we're going to be late to Hogwarts, just grab some powder and go!" In the middle of their little quarrel, Tracy had re entered the kitchen, and was now offering them both a flowerpot filled with a glittery silver and green powder.

            "FINE!" James and Lily both shouted at the same time.  As they both reached out for the flowerpot at the same time to grab for some powder, their hands brushed for the smallest instant, and they harshly withdrew them, knocking some powder to the ground.

            Tracy let out a frustrated noise as she swept up the powder and replaced it, then, after glaring at the two of them and giving them both equally dirty looks, continued out the door, back into the living room, Lily following closely behind, and James right after.

            "Come on James, ladies first, go." Lily said seriously.

            Tracy and Sirius both laughed, but Sirius' chuckles quickly became harsh fits of coughing when James glared in his direction.

            "Just get out of here Evans." He said, gritting his teeth.

            "Well, if you're sure." Lily replied casually.  Throwing the powder into the fireplace, Lily stepped into the flames and cried out, "Phoenix Hideaway, Lemon Drop." (That's Dumbledore's office…cuz ya knoe all places have a name like the Burrow, so I just made one up, sorry if it's lame, haha)  She was gone in an instant.  After James followed, the last thing he heard was a comment from both Sirius and Tracy,

            "YOU LOVE LILLLLY!!!!!"

            Luckily for them, before James could get out of the fireplace he vanished.  ^_^

            When everyone finally arrived in Dumbledore's office, they all took there regular seats…well, with a minor change, because James and Lily were now avoiding each other at all costs, they sat on the ends, with Sirius and Tracy in the middle.

            "Good morning everyone, I trust you had a nice night everyone?" Dumbledore asked his students kindly

            "Great." Lily said forcibly, while glaring at James.

            "Fantastic." James replied, with the same hard tone, while glaring at Lily.

            Dumbledore raised his eyebrows for and looked very confused for a second, before everything clicked, glancing at Tracy and Sirius, their brief nods, told him his assumptions were right.  'Oh this is going to be a long day' He thought to himself.  Dumbledore recalled the days, back when they were students in their second year.  The pranks, the chaos, the amusement.  Smiling faintly now, he turned back to the quartet, and decided to skip the subject for now. He would talk to James about it later; they had gotten close after James' parents had died, and James came to him often for advice.

            "Anyways, the reason I called you all here earlier today is because, I have a special visitor in from America.  I believe you all know him, although there's no knowing for sure until you meet him again." Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye.  "He's right over there."  

            Questioningly, the four looked over to where Dumbledore had nodded.  They hadn't realized someone else was in the room with them.  

            There, in the corner of the office, stood a tall, young man, 20 at most, probably 19.  His light brown hair was neat, and he was wearing a black robe that looked pretty new.  As he turned around, Tracy gasped while Lily started laughing with surprise and happiness.  James and Sirius both let out loud cheers, as all four began running towards the young man with, now with a huge smile on  his face also.

            It was Remus Lupin. (^_^_^_^_^ I love Remmie!!!!)

A/N: The end of this chapter!!! Wowwie…this is my longest yet I think, 9 pages right now ^_^_^ I knoe, I knoe took me long enough and I haven't yet introduced the big surprise I think you'll all love, but I promise, chapter 8 will be out on Saturday kk? REVIEWREVIEWREVIEW!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!! Make my life a wee bit better kk ^_^_^ and let me know what you think…I know not everyone wanted love/hate but it's in the majority…no worries, they'll be lovey dovey again in 2 chappies, 3 max cuz I don't like it when they're fighting.  ^_^_^ REMEMBER TO REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!! Button on the bottom left right down there ^_^_^_^ THANKS! 

Next Chapter:

The big surprise that I'm priding myself on thinking up, LoL!!!

Remmie gets a big role in the fic, you'll see ^_^ 

James and Lily fights ^_^ 

Another battle! I know, it's been a while, so here ya go ^_^ 

And much much more that'll I'll think up as I go, haha!!!!

REVIEW!!!!

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